Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman will face off against incumbent Karen Bass in the November election for Los Angeles mayor, CBS News projects. The news comes after Raman surged ahead in election results over the weekend, overtaking political newcomer Spencer Pratt.
Under California’s primary system, only the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. Bass had 34.3% and Raman 28.5% with 93% of the vote counted. Bass was previously projected to advance by CBS News on election night.
Raman overcomes election night deficit to secure spot in runoff
Pratt had previously held a six-percentage-point advantage over Raman for second place in the race, but his lead fell slightly with each update from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. On Sunday, Raman surpassed him by less than a percentage point.
Her lead further grew when the county’s polling update showed she had gained more than 33,000 votes, pushing her farther ahead of Pratt’s 25.8%.
All three candidates were vocal about the race results over the weekend, with Pratt urging his social followers to stay positive as thousands of votes were still outstanding, while Bass’ campaign issued a statement targeting Raman shortly after she overtook Pratt on Sunday.
“We look forward to winning a contest against an opponent who allows encampments near schools and fights against hiring more cops, yet is MIA on saving Hollywood jobs and fighting back when ICE invades LA,” the statement said.
Raman’s campaign also shared a statement early Monday, saying that her team is “encouraged by the latest vote count” and that they are grateful for all of the Angelenos who have helped support her campaign.
The trio appeared deadlocked leading up to Election Day, with Bass holding a slim 26% lead, Raman close behind at 25% and Pratt at 22%, according to a May 28 UC Berkeley-LA Times poll, which cited a margin of error of around 3%.
In the months leading up to the primary, UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs poll found that 40% of likely voters remained undecided, with director Zev Yaroslavsky calling the election “a wide-open race.” The most recent UC Berkeley-LA Times poll, however, found that most undecided voters had chosen a side, with that number dropping to 10%.
The race has garnered attention across the nation, fueled by a series of events that took place in Los Angeles in 2025, beginning with the devastating Palisades and Eaton Fires in January and then the beginning of immigration enforcement raids and protests that followed months later.
Councilmember Nithya Raman
Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images 
Formerly an ally of Bass, Raman announced her surprise bid for mayor in February. The news came after she had previously endorsed the incumbent in her reelection bid.
“Los Angeles is at a breaking point, and people can feel it in the most basic ways,” Raman said in her campaign announcement. “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.”
Raman, a Democrat, was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020 and reelected in 2024. Her Fourth District stretches from the San Fernando Valley to the Santa Monica Mountains.
She believes that Bass has been unable to properly address the city’s homeless crisis since taking office.
“I’ve tried to partner with the mayor’s office. I’ve hit a wall. I’ve hit a wall of inaction, a wall of a lack of responsiveness to the most urgent issues that are facing Los Angeles,” Raman said during her interview with CBS LA.
Raman’s own approach to homelessness has been heavily scrutinized during her two terms. She recently clashed with fellow councilmember Traci Park after she voted to block an anti-encampment ordinance in Venice. Previously, Raman has said that encampment bans are not a viable long-term solution, as they only serve to shift the homeless population.
While speaking to a crowd of supporters on election night, Raman said that she was proud of her fight against the “MAGA machine” and that she would continue to fight for Los Angeles regardless of the outcome of the race.
“Tonight may not give us a final answer on this race. Many thousands of votes will be counted on the days ahead, and we may not get an answer we like. But regardless of what happens next, nobody, nobody can take away what we built together,” she said.
Raman said this will be her last political campaign if she does not win the mayoral election.
Reality TV star Spencer Pratt
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images 
Pratt, who starred on the MTV hit series “The Hills” in the early 2000s, became well known as a reality TV agitator. He has carried that persona over into his mayoral bid, positioning himself as Bass’ chief antagonist.
A political newcomer, Pratt’s campaign journey started months after the devastating Palisades Fire in January 2025. He frequently posted videos on social media showing the charred remains of his property, quickly becoming a loud voice fighting for the survivors and victims of the blaze. He often questioned the response of politicians, including Bass and Newsom, after the fire.
“If I don’t get in [office] 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,” Pratt said in an interview with CBS LA.
Pratt and his parents were among the thousands who lost their homes in the Palisades Fire, but he says it was the months after the tragedy that spurred his entry into politics. He says that the fire wasn’t a motivating factor in his decision to run for mayor, but rather the months after when he saw the “layers of city negligence.”
Since announcing his bid for mayor, Pratt has continued amassing a large social media following, even getting the attention of President Trump, who appeared to back Pratt’s campaign in the weeks leading up to Election Day.
“I’d like to see him do well. He’s a character. I don’t know him. I assume he probably supports me,” Trump said in late May. “I hear he does. I heard he’s a big MAGA person. He’s doing well.”
Pratt argues that Bass’ “Inside Safe” program is ineffective because it relies on adding beds at homeless shelters and establishing affordable housing, and noted that the city should instead provide “medical, mandatory treatment.”
On election night, while speaking with reporters, a confident Pratt said that Bass, who had just been projected to advance, “is not a candidate that I’m too concerned about.”
He also said that he looks forward to more debates with Bass because it has become his “favorite thing to do.”
“She knows it’s on,” Pratt said. “I hope she’s ready; I literally could not be more excited.”
Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass
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After serving for more than a decade as a congresswoman and LA’s 43rd Mayor, Bass said this race will be her last campaign for public office.
Before her 12 years in the House of Representatives, Bass represented LA in the state Assembly from 2004 to 2010, where she was the first Black woman to serve as Speaker of a state legislative body.
“Let me just say this is my third office, but this is it,” Bass said to CBS LA before the election.
Bass has faced an onslaught of critical tests of leadership since being elected as mayor, including the city’s ongoing homelessness crisis, the Hollywood labor strikes in 2023, the Palisades Fire and increased immigration enforcement operations that started in 2025. All of these complex issues have impacted the local economy, which came to a head last year when the city faced a $1 billion shortfall.
Despite the challenges and scrutiny, Bass has celebrated her achievements thus far, noting that she worked to avert layoffs during the budgetary crisis and reduced the number of unhoused residents.
After it was announced that she would advance to the general election in November, Bass excitedly told supporters that her work isn’t over and that they have “laid a foundation” for success in her first term as mayor.
