A late filing adds a new challenger to the June mayoral election, setting up a contest that could see the nation’s second-largest city become the next in the U.S. to fall to socialism.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Socialist Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman announced Saturday that she is entering the city’s mayoral race, challenging incumbent Mayor Karen Bass as the filing deadline closed for the June election.
Raman, a Democrat who has served on the City Council since 2020, entered the race just hours before the noon Pacific time deadline. She won her council seat after defeating an incumbent in a Democratic primary with backing from the Democratic Socialists of America and currently chairs the council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee.
Bass, a former member of Congress, has served as mayor since 2022 and is seeking reelection. Her administration has faced scrutiny over responses to multiple high-profile events, including protests related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in mid-2025 and a major wildfire that damaged parts of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood earlier this year.
In an interview published Saturday, Raman told the Los Angeles Times that she has “deep respect” for Bass, describing the mayor as an “icon” and saying the two share “significant alignment” on some issues. At the same time, Raman said she believes the city needs major changes in how it operates.
“But over the last few months in particular, I’ve really begun to feel like unless we have some big changes in how we do things in Los Angeles, that the things we count on are not going to function anymore,” Raman said.
Raman also said Los Angeles is “at a breaking point,” adding that residents experience the strain in daily life, according to reporting by The New York Times.
Neither Raman’s nor Bass’s office immediately responded to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Homelessness is expected to be a central issue in the campaign. Raman oversees housing and homelessness policy on the City Council as Los Angeles continues to grapple with a long-standing crisis that has intensified during Bass’s term.
The mayoral election is scheduled for June 2. If no candidate receives a majority, a runoff will be held in November, concurrent with the 2026 general elections for Congress and governor. The runoff would feature the top two finishers from the June election, regardless of party affiliation.
With the filing deadline passed, the most prominent candidates in the race include Bass, Raman, and Spencer Pratt, a former reality television personality who lost his home in the Palisades Fire. Pratt, a registered Republican, faces long odds in the heavily Democratic city.
Other candidates include Rae Huang, a pastor and member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner had also entered the race but withdrew earlier this month following the death of his daughter. Businessman Rick Caruso, a Democrat who lost to Bass in the 2022 runoff, announced he would not seek another bid days before the filing deadline.
The race unfolds as Los Angeles voters prepare to choose leadership amid ongoing debates over housing, public safety, and recovery from recent crises.
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