Democratic socialist Nithya Raman ousts embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass

Houston Chronicle · MICHAEL R. BLOOD · 2026-11-05 22:55 UTC

Little-known Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman has defeated embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to lead the nation’s second most populous city.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nithya Raman, a little-known Los Angeles City Council member backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, has defeated Mayor Karen Bass, an upset that will alter the trajectory of the nation’s second-largest city.

The India-born Raman's upstart campaign marked a generational shift at City Hall as voters followed the lead of New York, where democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected last year. Raman, though, never attracted the same level of national attention and stressed her willingness to break with the progressive party at times during the campaign.

When she takes office next month, Raman will join the vanguard of democratic socialists in municipal government. In addition to Mamdani, Janeese Lewis George was elected Tuesday as mayor of Washington, D.C., and Katie Wilson is mayor in Seattle.

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