Nithya Raman wins Los Angeles mayor's race as Karen Bass concedes

Los Angeles is getting a new mayor. Councilmember Nithya Raman will take over after incumbent Karen Bass conceded defeat on Thursday morning, following a hard-fought campaign.

What happened?

Election night on Tuesday started with Bass holding a slim lead. But late-arriving ballots, which tend to skew toward young voters and renters, swung the race. Raman took the lead late that night, and her margin kept growing.

By Thursday morning she was 4.2% ahead, with many thousands of ballots still to count. Bass then called her to congratulate her.

"While this is not the outcome we hoped for, the people of Los Angeles have spoken," Bass said in a statement. She promised a smooth and seamless transition.

In a video, Raman thanked Bass for her service. She promised a city government that is "actually capable of delivering on its promises" and named affordable housing, parks and public transit as priorities. "I love this city, and I love its people," she said.

Why is everyone talking about it?

Because Raman was not the obvious favorite. She entered the race at the last minute in February, surprising the City Hall establishment. During the June primary, she appeared likely to finish third behind reality star Spencer Pratt, but she and Bass still advanced to the November runoff.

Bass, who has been mayor since 2022, argued the city needed a focus on public safety. She warned that Raman had opposed police funding and anti-camping zones. Raman countered that Los Angeles needed fresh leadership not captive to relationships at City Hall. Bass also faced voters upset about homelessness, civic disorder and her handling of the 2025 Palisades fire.

Polls were close at the end. Raman led several in the fall, but a Berkeley IGS/L.A. Times survey on Oct. 28 had both candidates tied at 40%.

Who is Nithya Raman?

Raman joined the Los Angeles City Council (the city's local legislature) in 2020. She was the first Asian-American woman and the first South Asian to serve on it, and she was re-elected in 2024. She holds degrees from Harvard and MIT and worked as an urban planner before going into politics. She also co-chaired a neighborhood homelessness committee in Silver Lake and co-founded the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition.

Hollywood backed her, too. Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, Adam Scott, Mike Schur and Colin Jost were among those who endorsed her or donated.

What's next?

The count isn't finished, but Bass has accepted the result. Next comes the transition, and then Raman has to show that her promises on housing, parks and transit can become reality in the second-largest city in the United States.