Nithya Raman advances to November runoff for Los Angeles mayor, setting challenge to Mayor Karen Bass

Progressive Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman has advanced to a November runoff against Mayor Karen Bass, setting up a contest for control of the nearly 4 million-resident city after the June election narrowed the field, according to PBS NewsHour and other news outlets.

Raman’s advancement also ended the run of Spencer Pratt, a Republican and former reality television personality associated with “The Hills,” who trailed behind in the initial round, AP reported. Pratt’s elimination leaves Bass, a fellow Democrat, to face a progressive challenger in the runoff.

Bass, who has served as mayor, is the first Black woman to hold the office, an additional point of note as she seeks to extend her term in the November election, as reported by multiple outlets summarizing the race background.

Raman, who had been involved in local politics before joining the mayoral field, made the runoff after what at least one report described as a last-minute entry into the race, following her earlier endorsement of Bass for re-election, according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. The same reporting described the matchup as an unexpected pairing between two Democrats and former political allies.

The runoff is expected to refocus attention on long-running municipal problems that have been central to recent Los Angeles political debate, including homelessness, deteriorating streets and sidewalks, and rising housing costs. PBS NewsHour described the election as a test of whether voters in a heavily Democratic city want “to move further to the political left” in addressing those issues.

Election administrators have not been cited in the reporting for specific vote totals or margins, and this story does not provide numeric results beyond the fact of advancement and elimination that outlets reported. The next election will determine whether Bass remains mayor or whether Raman takes over the role beginning after the November runoff concludes, according to the election timeline reported by local coverage.

As the runoff approaches, the practical stakes are tied to how the city spends and administers services that intersect with public safety and civil order, including enforcement related to public space conditions, shelter and homelessness services, and infrastructure maintenance. The runoff also continues a broader pattern in Los Angeles politics in which housing costs and quality-of-life issues can shape voter preferences even within one-party-dominant coalitions.