Karen Bass, left, and Nithya Raman. The two will battle it out in November. Composite: Getty Images for Highland Fleets, AP
Nithya Raman, a progressive member of the Los Angeles City Council, has secured a place in November’s mayoral runoff after narrowly surpassing former reality television personality Spencer Pratt, earning the opportunity to challenge incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.
Pratt, who launched his mayoral campaign after losing his Pacific Palisades residence in the devastating 2025 wildfires, maintained a slight advantage over Raman for several days. However, as election officials continued counting ballots from last week’s primary, Raman eventually moved ahead.
Bass, who is seeking re-election as mayor of the nation’s second-largest city, learned on primary night, 2 June, that she had obtained enough support to advance to the general election. The battle for the second runoff spot, however, remained unresolved for nearly a week.
Following confirmation that Raman had advanced, Bass’s campaign released a statement Monday evening. “A campaign against Nithya Raman, who permits encampments near schools and supports reducing police staffing, is a race Mayor Bass is eager to win,” said campaign strategist Douglas Herman.
With many Democratic voters submitting ballots in the final days before the election and California’s election-counting process known for being comprehensive yet slow, outcomes in several major statewide contests remain uncertain. In the governor’s race, voters are still awaiting confirmation of whether Republican Steve Hilton or Democrat Tom Steyer will move on to face former Biden administration official Xavier Becerra. Becerra officially advanced to the general election on Friday.
As Californians continue waiting for final results, misinformation and conspiracy theories regarding election integrity have spread online. During an NBC Meet the Press interview on Friday, Donald Trump exited the discussion after making unfounded claims about election fraud, labeling California’s system as “crooked” and alleging widespread “cheating.”
“It’s four days, and they aren’t even close to counting [ballots],” Trump remarked.
Pratt appeared to echo similar concerns in a social media message, stating, “They’re not the only ones who know where to find votes,” while implying that Raman’s lead was boosted by ballots cast by much of Los Angeles’s unhoused population.
In the run-up to the election, Pratt—despite having no prior political experience—rose rapidly in opinion polls. His campaign attracted attention through controversial videos and relentless social media criticism directed at his opponents, depicting both Bass and Raman as ineffective public officials. Nonetheless, his candidacy faced persistent scrutiny over his lack of governing experience and his registration as a Republican in heavily Democratic Los Angeles.
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Raman’s surprise entry into the race in February, only hours before the filing deadline, caught many political observers off guard. Just weeks earlier, she had publicly endorsed Bass’s re-election effort. The two politicians had also frequently praised one another on social media in previous years.
“She [Raman] is a perfect example of how elected officials should serve, beginning at the grassroots level and driven by a commitment to solving a specific problem,” Bass said in a 2023 video discussing Raman’s focus on affordable housing.
“I am so grateful for your friendship and your support,” Raman replied at the time.
Raman has largely brushed aside questions regarding their past relationship. “I don’t think conversations about LA’s future should revolve around friendship or betrayal,” she previously said. “We should be focused on the challenges facing our city and the solutions needed to address them.”
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman smiles during her election night party at Boomtown Brewery on June 2, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Whoever becomes the next mayor will be responsible for demonstrating progress on Los Angeles’s long-standing homelessness crisis, revitalizing Hollywood amid an ongoing production exodus, and strengthening emergency response systems following last year’s deadly wildfire season.
Before becoming mayor, Bass built a prominent political career at both the state and national levels, serving in the California State Assembly and later in the US Congress. In 2022, she defeated billionaire developer Rick Caruso to become the first woman elected mayor of Los Angeles.
Public dissatisfaction with Bass intensified after the catastrophic 2025 wildfires that devastated Altadena and Pacific Palisades. At the time the fires erupted, Bass was on a diplomatic visit to Ghana. Her absence, combined with reports of budget reductions affecting the fire department, fueled widespread criticism and calls for her resignation.
Since then, Bass has worked to rebuild public confidence. Nevertheless, frustration surrounding post-fire recovery efforts and the city’s homelessness challenges has continued.
Raman, who identifies as a democratic socialist, has presented herself as the candidate capable of delivering a new direction for Los Angeles. In 2020, she defeated councilmember David Ryu in a victory that inspired progressive candidates nationwide. She has highlighted achievements including limiting rent increases and significantly reducing encampments within her district. Housing policy remains the centerpiece of her mayoral campaign, with an emphasis on expanding development throughout the city.
Although Bass and Raman share common ground on several issues, they differ in their approaches to some of Los Angeles’s most pressing concerns. Bass has promoted the Inside Safe initiative, which removes encampments and places unhoused residents into temporary accommodations, often motel rooms.
Raman, however, argues that the program has consumed substantial resources without producing sufficient results. She has advocated for reforms that would introduce stronger data tracking, performance measurements, and accountability standards for homelessness programs.
The two candidates have also disagreed over Raman’s opposition to proposals that would increase firefighter hiring following the 2025 wildfires, as well as an ordinance targeting homeless encampments. Raman has characterized the camping measure as merely a short-term solution.
Bass’s re-election campaign has received endorsements from several high-profile California Democrats, including Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris. At the same time, a number of Raman’s progressive colleagues on the City Council have backed her candidacy.
Polling conducted before election day indicated that Raman and Pratt were locked in a close contest for the opportunity to challenge Bass in November.
Pratt first gained national attention through The Hills, MTV’s popular reality series following the lives of young adults in Los Angeles between 2006 and 2010. His frequent confrontations and highly publicized relationship with fellow cast member and now-wife Heidi Montag helped cement his reputation as one of reality television’s most notorious villains.
