Nithya Raman defeats Karen Bass to become Los Angeles’ first South Asian mayor

Nithya Raman has defeated incumbent Karen Bass in the Los Angeles mayoral election, putting her on course to become the first South Asian to lead the United States’ second-largest city. The Associated Press called the race on Thursday with Raman on 52% of the vote. Raman, 45, is a progressive member of the Los Angeles City Council and an urban planner who was born in India.

Her victory came despite Bass receiving support from prominent Democrats including California Governor Gavin Newsom, former Vice-President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Nearly every member of the city council also backed the incumbent, according to India Today. Bass becomes the first Los Angeles mayor in almost two decades to lose a re-election campaign.

She congratulated Raman and said she had called her to acknowledge the result. “The people of Los Angeles have spoken,” Bass said, promising to help ensure a smooth transition. Raman initially supported Bass’s re-election but entered the contest in February, shortly before the filing deadline.

Her campaign was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, Our Revolution and the Sierra Club. The result follows the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York mayor the previous year and forms part of a wider increase in visibility for left-wing candidates. Raman campaigned on expanding affordable housing, repairing neglected infrastructure and improving basic services such as roads, sidewalks and streetlights.

She also called for replacing the police chief over concerns about cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Her platform sought to distinguish her from the established Democratic leadership that had supported Bass. Homelessness was central to the campaign.

Raman has proposed using more medical outreach teams to build trust with people living on the streets and in encampments, moving them toward permanent housing and reducing reliance on hotels used to accommodate unhoused residents. India Today reported that she has said her plans could cut the number of people sleeping in tents and encampments by at least half by 2028. That deadline will coincide with the Los Angeles Olympic Games, creating an immediate test for the incoming mayor.

The city has more than 3.8 million residents and faces persistent homelessness, infrastructure problems and difficulties in its entertainment industry. A Berkeley IGS/Los Angeles Times poll cited by India Today found that about four in 10 likely voters considered reducing encampments a top priority. Bass’s term was marked by criticism over homelessness and the city’s response to the deadly Palisades Fire, which began while she was abroad and devastated communities.

Raman now inherits those unresolved pressures along with responsibility for the Olympic host city. Her victory demonstrates voter dissatisfaction with the existing administration, but the reports offer no indication yet of how she will translate an ambitious campaign programme into policy.