Los Angeles Mayoral Race: Karen Bass Secures a November Spot in a Tighter-Than-Expected Contest

The Los Angeles mayoral race delivered a clear frontrunner on Tuesday night, with incumbent Mayor Karen Bass locking down one of the two spots on the November ballot, according to The Associated Press. But the bigger story may be just how close the contest became — and who will join her in the runoff still hangs in the balance.

Behind Bass, two very different challengers were locked in a fight for second place: Nithya Raman, a progressive City Council member and former Bass ally, and Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV personality turned political insurgent.

A Win, But Not a Coronation

At 72, Bass is a familiar and formidable figure in California politics. A former Democratic congresswoman, she could have avoided a November runoff entirely by clearing 50 percent of the vote outright. That outcome, however, looked increasingly out of reach after a bruising three-way battle in a field of more than a dozen candidates.

Early returns told the story. With roughly 48 percent of the expected vote counted, Bass held about 37 percent. Pratt sat at around 30 percent, while Raman trailed with about 21 percent.

It’s worth remembering that California counts slowly. With so many residents voting by mail, tallies can shift dramatically over the days — and sometimes weeks — that follow election night. So while Pratt looked strong late Tuesday, nothing about second place is locked in.

The Battle for Second: Two Opposing Visions

The race for that final ballot slot has become a study in contrasts.

Raman, 44, has built a passionate following among young urban progressives, drawing comparisons to New York’s charismatic progressive mayor, Zohran Mamdani. A mother of young twins and the wife of a screenwriter, she won her City Council seat in 2020 with backing from the Democratic Socialists of America.

Pratt, 42, took an entirely different route. The former star of “The Hills” channeled the frustration simmering on the city’s Westside after a devastating wildfire tore through Pacific Palisades, the affluent coastal neighborhood where he once lived. While Raman energized the progressive base, Republicans — who make up only about 15 percent of the city’s electorate — rallied behind Pratt.

How Bass Got Here

Bass’s path to this point reflects decades of public service. A Los Angeles native trained as a physician assistant, she rose to prominence during the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, helping launch a grassroots movement that grew into one of the city’s most influential nonprofits.

She has held public office since 2004 — first in the State Legislature, then in Congress, where she chaired the Congressional Black Caucus. When she ran for mayor in 2022, she dominated a crowded field with 43 percent of the vote before defeating a billionaire developer to become the first woman elected to lead the city.

By several measures, her tenure has produced results:

• Unsheltered homelessness has steadily declined
• Homicide rates have dropped to lows not seen since the 1960s

Yet those accomplishments have been overshadowed by a new wave of anxiety gripping the city.

The Shadow of the Palisades Fire

Much of Bass’s vulnerability traces back to the catastrophic Palisades fire, which claimed 12 lives and destroyed thousands of homes. Survivors are still struggling to rebuild, and many residents have not forgiven the mayor for being out of the country on January 7, 2025, when the blaze ignited.

Her approval ratings cratered in the aftermath, especially among white voters on the city’s Westside. The fallout, combined with a national mood that has soured on incumbents, left her looking far more exposed than she did in 2022.

A City Facing Mounting Pressures

The challenges don’t stop there. Los Angeles is navigating a tangle of difficult issues all at once:

• Less than six months ago, the Trump administration finally withdrew the last of nearly 5,000 U.S. Marines and federalized National Guard troops deployed during last summer’s immigration-raid protests.
• The entertainment industry, the city’s signature economic engine, is contracting.
• Lawsuits over crumbling streets and damaged sidewalks have strained the municipal budget.
• Millions of visitors are arriving as the city prepares to host World Cup matches and, in 2028, the Olympic Games.

Bass has asked voters for a second four-year term to keep rebuilding the Palisades, reduce homelessness further, and revive the local economy. Much of the city’s established business and labor establishment lined up behind her — including the police union, which had supported her opponent last time around.

The Case Against the Incumbent

Raman’s campaign rested on a pointed argument: that the city’s recovery has been too slow and that basic municipal functions are failing despite the mayor’s efforts. She zeroed in on the concerns of LA’s vast renter population and the long backlog of service requests, from streetlight repairs to everyday maintenance.

Pratt, meanwhile, ran a far more combative — and at times incendiary — campaign. He branded Raman a “champagne socialist” and mocked Bass using the Spanish word for trash, “basura.” His social media presence featured lurid, AI-generated ads depicting Bass as Darth Vader and a Batman villain. He also referred to homeless individuals as “drug zombies” and called for forcing them into treatment.

His campaign finance reports revealed a $20,000 payment to a conservative law firm connected to Elon Musk’s lawyer, and President Trump has publicly praised him. By late May, out-of-state donors had helped him raise more than $3.2 million.

A Strategic Twist

Adding intrigue to the race, some of Bass’s own political allies appear to have quietly boosted Pratt’s profile. Their reasoning is strategic: they see him as a weaker general-election opponent than Raman in a one-on-one matchup, and they worked to nudge him into the second ballot slot.

What Happens Next

For now, Karen Bass has her November spot secured. But with California’s deliberate counting process still underway, the identity of her challenger remains genuinely uncertain. Whether she faces a progressive insurgent or a provocative outsider could shape the tone of the entire fall campaign — and the answer may take days to arrive.