Raman Advances Past Pratt to Face Bass in LA Mayor Runoff
Cover image from independent.co.uk, which was analyzed for this article
Progressive Democrat Nithya Raman secured second place to advance to the runoff against Karen Bass, knocking out Trump-backed influencer Spencer Pratt.
PoliticalOS
Tuesday, June 9, 2026 — Politics
Los Angeles will choose in November between an incumbent mayor and a more progressive challenger after voters eliminated the Trump-endorsed outsider. The result turns on whether dissatisfaction with homelessness, fire recovery, and city services produces a shift leftward or simply continuity within the same ideological lane.
What outlets missed
Most coverage omitted that Pratt filed as a nonpartisan candidate on Los Angeles’s officially nonpartisan ballot rather than as a Republican nominee. Few outlets detailed the specific policy contrasts between Raman and Bass on police staffing levels or the location of homeless encampments near schools. The role of late-deciding Democratic voters in the crowded gubernatorial primary, who may have split their mayoral ballots differently, received little examination. No outlet supplied turnout or precinct-level data showing whether Raman’s gains came from the same neighborhoods that supported Bass in 2022.
Los Angeles voters face a November choice between two Democrats after mail ballots lifted City Council member Nithya Raman into second place in the June 2 primary. Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass secured first place weeks earlier. Raman finished at 28.5 percent, ahead of Spencer Pratt at 25.8 percent, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
The outcome leaves Bass, first elected in 2022, to defend her record on the 2025 wildfires, homelessness, and housing costs against a fellow progressive who entered the race only weeks before the filing deadline. Raman, who has served on the council since 2020, campaigned on expanding affordable housing and criticized the pace of post-fire recovery. Pratt, a former reality television personality endorsed by President Trump, centered his effort on the same recovery delays, potholed streets, and visible homelessness.
Bass’s campaign issued a statement Monday night that framed the runoff as a contest against an opponent who “allows encampments near schools and fights against hiring more cops.” Raman responded with her own statement: “I’m incredibly honored that voters have given us the opportunity to advance to the general election for Mayor of Los Angeles. Now our fight for a healthier, safer, more affordable, and more joyful Los Angeles continues.”
California’s all-mail system and staggered ballot arrivals produced a week-long count that erased Pratt’s early lead. The same slow tabulation has drawn complaints from candidates in the parallel governor’s race. President Trump posted on Truth Social that his preferred candidates were being “cheated,” though no evidence of irregularities has been presented by federal prosecutors. The runoff is scheduled for November 3 alongside other midterm contests.
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