Nitya Raman, a Democratic candidate, has seen her prospects for becoming Los Angeles’ next mayor improve significantly, especially given that only a week has passed since polling closed and she was trailing Republican Spencer Pratt by a notable margin on Election Day.
The Los Angeles City Council member, originally from India, had entered the race in February and, as of Saturday evening, was in third place, just one point behind Pratt, a former reality TV star now running for second place in the upcoming November runoff. With 78% of the votes counted, outgoing Democratic Mayor Karen Bass held 34.6% of the votes, while Pratt was at 27.3% and Raman at 26.2%.
There’s a strong expectation from various sources that Bass will make it to the runoff in November. However, it remains uncertain whether she will face a competitor from the left or the right side of the political spectrum.
On Election Night, Pratt had a lead with 46% of the vote, which put him 10 points ahead of Raman. The initial counts showed Pratt at 30.1% and Raman at 20.2%. Yet, just a few hours later, the gap had narrowed to 7 points. By the next day, the count was at 63%. As of Thursday, 71% of the votes were counted, and Pratt’s lead had dwindled to just four points behind Raman.
Zachary Donini, a data science expert at VoteHub, noted, “Raman needed to outpace Pratt by 8.7 points in the remaining votes, but instead, she surpassed that by 22.5 points, marking a significant turnaround.” This development suggests that Raman might join Bass for the runoff.
Eric Seufert, a media strategist, indicated that there was a recent drop of almost 60,000 votes with Raman at 39%, Bass at 34%, and Pratt at 18%. This group of ballots was described as the largest batch after the initial votes from election night, showing Raman gaining the most support.
Raman has also been active as the chairperson for the Housing and Homelessness Committee in the District of Columbia Council, where she opposed a measure aimed at removing homeless encampments, a proposal backed by Bass. Despite her efforts, the ordinance passed with overwhelming support, with socialists casting one of the only dissenting votes.
On the other hand, Pratt, who gained fame from the MTV series “The Hills,” faced personal challenges, including losing his home to a wildfire in early 2025. His handling of the disaster received mixed reactions across the political landscape.
Leading up to the election, Pratt directed his campaign focus on addressing homelessness, seemingly underestimating the support for Raman. He even referred to her as “irrelevant” during a media appearance right before the vote, pointing to her declining approval ratings.
Considering the Democratic leanings of Los Angeles, if Pratt moves forward to the runoff against Bass, he would likely face a steep uphill battle. The potential match-up between Bass and Raman is murky since both are Democrats, making predictions difficult.
If Raman succeeds in overcoming Pratt and dethrones Bass, it could mean Los Angeles joins other major cities in opting for a more left-leaning mayor rather than a centrist Democrat. Recently, New York City elected leftist Mayor Zoran Mamdani over former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and two years ago, Chicago saw leftist Mayor Brandon Johnson win against moderate candidate Paul Vallas.
