Nithya Raman edges out Spencer Pratt to face Karen Bass in LA mayoral runoff | Los Angeles

Nithya Raman, a progressive Los Angeles city councilwoman, advanced to the November Los Angeles mayoral runoff, beating out former reality TV villain Spencer Pratt for a chance to face incumbent mayor Karen Bass.

Pratt, who decided to run for mayor after his Pacific Palisades home burned in the 2025 wildfires, held Raman’s lead for days. However, as the voting process for last week’s elections continued, the city council member took the lead.

Bass, who is running for another term to lead America’s second-largest city, learned on primary night June 2 that he had garnered enough votes to advance to the November election, but the race for second place remained close for nearly a week.

The results of some of the state’s biggest races remain uncertain as many Democratic voters continue to cast their ballots until the final days of the election and California is notorious for its detailed but slow ballot processing process. In the governor’s race, voters are waiting to learn whether Republican Steve Hilton or Democrat Tom Steyer will run against former Biden cabinet official Xavier Becerra. Becerra ran in the general election on Friday.

But as the state awaited results, misinformation about the integrity of California’s elections and conspiracy theories about vote rigging proliferated. On Friday, Trump withdrew from an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press after making false election claims, calling the state “skewed” and claiming it was “rigged.”

“It’s been four days and they haven’t even come close to counting [ballots]” said Trump.

“They’re not the only ones who know where to find votes,” Pratt said in a social media post, alluding to similar election conspiracy theories and suggesting that Raman’s lead in the race came from the votes of the entire unhoused population of Los Angeles.

In the weeks before the election, Pratt, a political novice, rose to the top of the polls by making headlines with controversial campaign videos and relentless social media attacks on his rivals, portraying Bass and Raman as ineffective leaders. But his campaign was challenged by his lack of political experience as well as questions about his status as a registered Republican in dark-blue Los Angeles.

Raman’s entry into the race in February, hours before the deadline, shocked the city’s politicians. He supported Bass’ re-election bid weeks ago. The duo had praised each other in their previous social media posts.

“HE [Raman] It’s a perfect example of how elected officials need to be motivated from the grassroots down by a very specific problem, Bass said in a 2023 statement. videoHe references Raman’s focus on affordable housing.

“I am very grateful for your friendship and support,” Raman said replied.

Raman largely dismissed questions about their personal backgrounds. “I don’t think we should talk about the future of Los Angeles in terms of friendship or betrayal,” he previously told the Guardian. “We need to talk about the problems we face and how we can solve them.”

The next mayor will be tasked with showing progress on containing the homelessness crisis — a problem that has long plagued Los Angeles, revitalizing Hollywood amid a manufacturing exodus and bolstering emergency response programs after last year’s deadly wildfires.

Before serving at City Hall, Bass was a fixture in state and national politics, holding prestigious positions in the state legislature and the U.S. Congress. She defeated billionaire developer Rick Caruso in the 2022 mayoral race, becoming the first woman to lead Los Angeles.

Discontent over Bass’ tenure erupted in the wake of the deadly 2025 wildfires that ravaged Altadena and Pacific Palisades. Bass was on an ill-timed diplomatic trip to Ghana when the massive fires broke out. His absence, combined with reports of budget cuts to the fire department, sparked a number of calls for his resignation.

Since then, Bass has struggled to win back the support of Angelenos. But discontent over the city’s post-fire reconstruction and homelessness crisis has not abated.

A democratic socialist, Raman sees himself as the change needed to steer the city in the right direction. In 2020, he unseated councilman David Ryu in a victory that emboldened leftist candidates nationwide. He touted his record capping rent increases and cutting camps half floor He has placed housing at the center of his campaign, pushing for more development in his district and throughout Los Angeles.

While Bass and Raman agreed on many issues, they offered different approaches to some of Los Angeles’ biggest problems. Bass promoted Inside Safe, a program that clears encampments for individuals living on the streets, often securing temporary housing such as motel rooms.

But Raman said the program was wasted money without consequences. He proposed reforms to incorporate data and metrics for better oversight and accountability in homeless initiatives.

Bass and Raman also clashed over Raman’s votes against a proposal to deploy more firefighters in the wake of last year’s wildfires and homeless camping. (Raman described the bill as follows: short term to change).

Prominent California Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and former vice president Kamala Harris, have supported Bass’ re-election campaign, as well as some of Raman’s. progressive colleagues in the city council.

Polls leading up to election day showed Raman and Pratt in a tight race to challenge Bass in the November election.

Pratt first rose to notoriety on the popular MTV show The Hills, which chronicled the lives of young 20-somethings and aired in Los Angeles from 2006 to 2010. His angry outbursts and tumultuous relationship with his now-wife costar Heidi Montag earned him a reputation as one of reality TV’s most notorious villains.