Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman advanced from the June 2, 2026, primary election as a leading challenger to incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. The general election in Los Angeles is scheduled for November 3, 2026, where voters will decide between Bass and Raman.

Karen Bass finished first in the primary election. A poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies indicated that Raman was supported by 32% of registered voters surveyed in a head-to-head runoff, while Bass received 28% support.

Raman, a Democratic Socialist, has been elected to the Los Angeles City Council twice with support from the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. Three other City Council members who are also Democratic Socialists of America members—Eunisses Hernandez, Ysabel Jurado, and Hugo Soto-Martínez—previously endorsed Bass for mayor. The Democratic Socialists of America Los Angeles chapter recommended Raman in the primary but did not issue an official endorsement.

Alex Stack, a spokesperson for the Bass campaign, criticized Raman's record. "What's important isn't labels — it's what her [Raman's] record shows, and that's voting over and over and over to allow encampments near schools and to shrink our police force," Stack said. Raman has voted against additional police hiring and spending, as well as against creating new anti-encampment zones around the city.

Raman addressed her approach to governance, stating, "I've always believed the most progressive thing you can do is actually make government deliver." Sean Wakasa, co-chair of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, described democratic socialism as "Democratic socialism ultimately, at the end of the day, is about making the politics that working-class Americans can see themselves in." The Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America lists abolishing prisons and defunding the police among its objectives.

Stuart Waldman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, expressed concerns regarding the potential impact of a socialist mayor, saying, "They would run roughshod over the city." Two members of the Democratic Socialists of America on the Los Angeles City Council were reelected in the June 2 primary.

Why It Matters

Raman's advancement to the general election marks the first time a self-identified democratic socialist has emerged as a frontrunner in the mayoral race for Los Angeles. This development sets up a contest between an incumbent mayor and a challenger whose political alignment with the Democratic Socialists of America brings policy positions like defunding the police and abolishing prisons into the mayoral debate. The outcome will determine the city's leadership and could influence policy direction on issues such as public safety, housing, and social services.