Credit : Reuters' X
LOS ANGELES, November 5, 2026 — Progressive Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman has defeated incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, becoming the first challenger in more than two decades to unseat a sitting mayor of the United States’ second-largest city, Reuters and major US outlets reported.
Reuters said the Democratic socialist-backed candidate defeated Bass in a closely fought race. NBC News projected Raman the winner on Thursday as later ballot counts widened her lead after Tuesday’s election. With roughly three-quarters of the expected vote counted, Raman held about 52.7 percent to Bass’s 47.3 percent, according to figures cited by NBC Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Almanac.
Bass conceded by telephone on Thursday after the latest tally showed Raman ahead, the Los Angeles Times reported. Raman, 45, thanked supporters and said she would work to earn Angelenos’ trust on homelessness, affordable housing and public safety. Bass, 73, a former congresswoman seeking a second mayoral term, thanked her supporters and accepted the result.
Raman finished second in the June primary behind Bass and advanced to the November runoff. She campaigned as a critic of what she called a “broken city,” winning endorsement from the Democratic Socialists of America Los Angeles chapter. Bass argued that Raman was not ready to govern the sprawling metropolis.
The Associated Press described the outcome as an upset that will alter the trajectory of Los Angeles politics. NBC News noted that Raman’s victory means the country’s two largest cities will be led by democratic socialists, joining New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Analysts said voter frustration over housing costs and street conditions outweighed Bass’s national profile.
Bass had never previously lost an election for public office. Her defeat is the first time an incumbent Los Angeles mayor has failed to win re-election since Jim Hahn lost to Antonio Villaraigosa in 2005, NBC reported. Raman is due to be sworn in in December.
Reuters framed the race as part of a broader progressive surge in large US cities after the midterm cycle. Local business groups and police unions had largely backed Bass; tenant and labour organisations leaned toward Raman. Transition talks are expected to focus on the city’s budget gap and federally watched homelessness programmes.
Neither candidate’s campaign immediately published a full joint transition schedule. City Hall departments will brief the incoming mayor on emergency services, the Olympics planning pipeline and housing bond spending. State and federal officials said they were prepared to work with whoever voters chose.
Raman’s win caps a rapid rise from council chambers to citywide office. Supporters cast it as a mandate for denser housing and stronger tenant protections; critics warned that business investment could slow if regulations tighten. Those arguments will play out as she names senior staff and sets a first-year agenda.
Housing and homelessness dominated the runoff. Raman promised faster shelter construction and stronger tenant protections; Bass highlighted federal partnerships forged during her term and warned that abrupt policy shifts could unsettle service providers. Voters appeared more persuaded by the challenger’s critique of street conditions than by the incumbent’s experience argument, several precinct-level analyses suggested.
Source: Reuters on X, with background from the Los Angeles Times, NBC News, NBC Los Angeles, Associated Press and Los Angeles Almanac.
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