Raman Advances Past Pratt to Face Bass in LA Mayor Runoff

The race for Los Angeles mayor took another turn Monday when late-counted ballots pushed left-wing city council member Nithya Raman past President Trump's endorsed candidate Spencer Pratt. Raman now advances to face incumbent Democrat Karen Bass in November, leaving voters a choice between two progressives in America's second-largest city.

Pratt, the former reality television figure who campaigned on fixing the city's broken streets, rampant homelessness and slow recovery from the 2025 wildfires, held a lead after election night. As mail ballots continued to be tallied over the following week, Raman overtook him by less than three percentage points. Final projections showed her at 28.5 percent to his 25.8 percent. Bass had already secured her spot in the runoff on primary night.

The outcome fits a pattern seen in other large Democratic strongholds. Chicago voters replaced one struggling mayor with a more progressive alternative. New York City moved further left after ousting Eric Adams. Los Angeles appears set to follow the same script. Pratt had positioned himself as an outsider willing to challenge city hall's handling of encampments near schools, police staffing cuts and the post-fire rebuilding delays that left neighborhoods scarred.

Raman, who entered the race late, celebrated the result as a mandate for her agenda. She described the contest as a fight for a healthier and more affordable city. Bass's campaign, meanwhile, signaled it would paint Raman as soft on crime and homelessness in the general election. Both candidates share the same party label and broad ideological ground.

Pratt had drawn attention for his blunt criticism of local governance and his alignment with the president's priorities on border security and urban order. His loss means no Republican will appear on the November ballot despite widespread public frustration with visible disorder across the city. The counting process itself stretched for days, with updates showing steady gains for the more progressive candidate as additional ballots arrived.

Los Angeles has now locked in a November matchup that offers little deviation from the policies voters have lived under for years. Bass, seeking a second term, has faced criticism over the January fires and subsequent protests, yet the primary delivered her a familiar opponent rather than an outsider challenge. The result underscores how difficult it remains for alternatives to break through in cities where one party has long dominated.