The city gave me so much, but today I fear it's no longer a place of opportunity
In a city still smoldering from catastrophe and burdened by the weight of its unhoused thousands, Los Angeles has narrowed its mayoral contest to two women with competing visions of what the city owes its people. City Council member Nithya Raman, trailing on election night, steadily overtook reality television personality Spencer Pratt across the weekend's vote counts to claim the second spot in a November runoff against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. The race distills a question as old as governance itself: whether those in power have done enough, or whether the moment demands something new.
- What appeared to be Pratt's race to lose on election night dissolved with each new ballot batch, as Raman clawed back a six-point deficit to pull ahead by a widening margin by Sunday.
- The January 2025 Palisades and Eaton Fires — which destroyed thousands of homes and upended lives across the region — cast a long shadow over the entire primary, turning personal loss into political fuel.
- Homelessness remains the fault line of the race, with Bass defending her shelter-focused record, Raman arguing that City Hall has served the powerful over the struggling, and Pratt's mandatory-treatment platform now sidelined.
- Bass's campaign moved quickly to frame the coming runoff as a fight against a council member who blocked anti-encampment measures, while Raman declared that City Hall's deference to moneyed interests is over.
- The November contest will be shaped by a city simultaneously navigating disaster recovery, immigration enforcement pressures, and a homelessness crisis that no administration has yet resolved.
The Los Angeles mayoral race shifted quietly but decisively over the weekend, as vote batches from the county registrar steadily eroded Spencer Pratt's election-night lead. By Sunday, City Council member Nithya Raman had overtaken the former reality television personality for the second spot on the November ballot. With 93 percent of votes counted, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass held 34.3 percent, Raman 28.5 percent, and Pratt 27.2 percent — a reversal that left the political newcomer on the outside looking in.
Raman, first elected to the council in 2020 and a Bass ally until February, entered the race framing it as a referendum on the mayor's handling of the city's deepest crises. She has argued that homelessness policy under Bass has shuffled people rather than housed them, and that City Hall has grown too comfortable serving powerful donors over working residents. In her statement after the projection, she told supporters that the runoff represents a chance to end that pattern.
Bass, who became Los Angeles's 43rd mayor after more than a decade in Congress, has governed through a relentless series of tests — most visibly the Palisades and Eaton Fires of January 2025, which destroyed thousands of homes and defined the early years of her tenure. Her campaign has pointed to shelter expansions and reductions in the unhoused population while attacking Raman's vote against an anti-encampment ordinance in Venice.
Pratt's campaign was itself born from the fires — he lost his home in the Palisades blaze and became a sharp public critic of the city's response, drawing social media attention and eventually a late endorsement from President Trump. His outsider energy animated a portion of the electorate, but it was not enough to hold against Raman's late surge.
The November runoff will test whether voters want to affirm Bass's record or demand the change Raman is promising — with homelessness, fire recovery, and the city's sense of itself as a place of opportunity all hanging in the balance.
The votes kept coming in over the weekend, and with each update from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, the race for Los Angeles mayor shifted. By Sunday, City Council member Nithya Raman had overtaken reality television personality Spencer Pratt for the second spot on the November ballot, a position that seemed his to lose just days earlier. CBS News now projects that Raman will face incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in a runoff that will determine who leads a city still reeling from catastrophic fires and grappling with an intractable homelessness crisis.
When ballots were first counted on election night, Pratt held a six-percentage-point lead over Raman for second place. But the advantage eroded with each subsequent batch of votes. By Sunday, Raman had pulled ahead by less than a point. When the county released its next update, she had gained more than 33,000 votes to Pratt's 25,800, widening her margin considerably. With 93 percent of votes counted, Bass held 34.3 percent, Raman 28.5 percent, and Pratt 27.2 percent—a stunning reversal from election night that left the political newcomer on the outside looking in.
Raman, a Democrat first elected to the City Council in 2020, had been an ally of Bass until February, when she announced her challenge to the incumbent. She framed the race as a referendum on Bass's handling of the city's most pressing crises. "Los Angeles is at a breaking point, and people can feel it in the most basic ways," Raman said when she entered the race. "The city gave me and my husband so much, but today, I fear that the city is no longer a place of opportunity for too many." Her campaign centered on the argument that Bass had failed to address homelessness and that City Hall had become too responsive to powerful interests and too indifferent to working people struggling with rising rents and depleted services. In a statement released Monday after her advancement was projected, Raman told supporters that "for too long, City Hall has prioritized giving political advantage to powerful interests that fund elections."
Bass, who served more than a decade in Congress before becoming Los Angeles's 43rd mayor, has faced relentless tests since taking office. The Palisades and Eaton Fires in January 2025 destroyed thousands of homes and became the defining crisis of her early tenure. She has also contended with the city's chronic homelessness problem, labor strikes, and immigration enforcement raids that began in 2025. Despite these challenges, Bass has pointed to achievements including work to prevent layoffs and reductions in the number of unhoused residents. Her campaign has attacked Raman's record on homelessness, particularly her vote to block an anti-encampment ordinance in Venice. "A campaign against Nithya Raman, who allows encampments near schools and cuts the police force, is one Mayor Bass looks forward to winning," the campaign said in a statement released Monday.
Pratt's entry into the race was itself a product of the fires. The former star of MTV's "The Hills" lost his home in the Palisades Fire, as did his parents. In the months after the disaster, he became a vocal critic of the city's response, posting videos of his charred property and questioning the actions of Bass and Governor Newsom. He positioned himself as an outsider willing to challenge the political establishment. "If I don't get in and we have four more years of these current plans and this current direction, and not a real 180-degree change, everyone is in big trouble," he told CBS LA. Pratt's campaign gained traction on social media, eventually drawing the attention of President Trump, who expressed support for the candidate in late May. On election night, before the vote count began to shift against him, Pratt spoke with confidence about facing Bass in a runoff, saying he looked forward to debates and that "she knows it's on."
The race had been remarkably fluid heading into the primary. A late May poll showed Bass with a slim 26 percent lead, Raman at 25 percent, and Pratt at 22 percent—a margin well within the three-percentage-point error. UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs had found that 40 percent of likely voters remained undecided, with the director calling it "a wide-open race." A more recent UC Berkeley-LA Times poll suggested that most undecided voters had made up their minds, but the tightness of the contest remained evident.
Now, with Raman's advancement secured, the November runoff will pit Bass's record and experience against Raman's critique of inaction and her promise of change. The campaign will almost certainly continue to center on homelessness policy, where the candidates have fundamentally different approaches. Raman has argued that encampment bans only shift the homeless population rather than solving the problem, while Pratt—now watching from the sidelines—had advocated for mandatory medical treatment. Bass has defended her "Inside Safe" program, which adds shelter beds and establishes affordable housing. The fires that catalyzed Pratt's entry into politics will likely remain a central issue as well, a reminder of the material stakes of governance in a city where disaster and chronic crisis have become intertwined.
Citas Notables
Los Angeles is at a breaking point, and people can feel it in the most basic ways. The city gave me and my husband so much, but today, I fear that the city is no longer a place of opportunity for too many.— Nithya Raman, announcing her mayoral campaign in February
For too long, City Hall has prioritized giving political advantage to powerful interests that fund elections. Meanwhile, working people pay the price in higher rents, depleted services, and a city that has stopped working for them.— Raman's campaign statement after advancing to the runoff
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
How did Raman pull ahead when she was behind on election night?
The vote count continued over the weekend, and with each batch of ballots processed, her margin improved. She gained more than 33,000 votes in one update while Pratt gained 25,800. It's not unusual in California for the race to shift as mail-in ballots are counted, but the speed and scale of her comeback surprised many observers.
What's the real difference between how Bass and Raman want to handle homelessness?
Bass relies on her "Inside Safe" program—adding shelter beds and building affordable housing. Raman says that approach is too slow and that the city needs to fundamentally rethink how it addresses the crisis. She's skeptical of encampment bans because they just move the problem elsewhere. It's a debate about whether you're managing the crisis or solving it.
Why did Spencer Pratt actually matter in this race?
He was the wild card. He came in as an outsider with a massive social media following, energized by the fires and angry at the political establishment. He pulled votes from both Bass and Raman. Once he fell out of the top two, the race became a straight fight between the incumbent and her challenger.
Is Bass's record strong enough to win in November?
She's defended her achievements—preventing layoffs, reducing homelessness numbers—but she's also presided over a city that experienced catastrophic fires, ongoing homelessness, and economic strain. Voters will decide whether her experience and accomplishments outweigh the sense that the city is still in crisis.
What does Raman's campaign actually promise?
She's running against the status quo. She says City Hall serves powerful interests instead of working people, and that Bass has been unresponsive to urgent problems. Her message is that the city needs a different direction, though her own record on homelessness has been controversial too.