Los Angeles mayoral race heads to November runoff

Karen Bass and Nithya Raman advance to November runoff for LA mayor after primary voting

Objective Facts

Karen Bass and Nithya Raman will advance to the November runoff election for Los Angeles mayor, eliminating Republican former reality TV star Spencer Pratt. Raman overtook Spencer Pratt for second place as ballots continued to be counted over the week following the nonpartisan top-two primary held on June 2, 2026. Bass was leading the pack with 37% of the vote on Tuesday night, while in an updated batch of election results on Monday, Bass maintained her lead with 34% of the vote, while Raman rose to 29% and Spencer Pratt stayed at 26%. With 93% of the vote tabulated on June 8, election observers concluded that Bass and Raman advanced to a runoff election, with Pratt and all other candidates eliminated.

Left-Leaning Perspective

Progressive media outlets and analysts highlighted Raman's advancement as a significant moment for left-wing politics in Los Angeles. PBS News and ABC News presented Raman as "progressive," and Democracy Now! covered her advancement as a development where "progressive Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman will advance to a November runoff election against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, who's seeking a second term in office". Raman herself framed the race in populist terms, stating she was "as frustrated by the broken status quo" and criticizing that "City Hall has prioritized giving political advantage to powerful interests that fund elections," with "working people" paying "the price in higher rents, depleted services and a city that has stopped working for them". Progressive analysts, including USC's Kamy Akhavan, argued that Raman's position was that Bass "did not deliver on her promises for the city of Los Angeles," noting the incumbent "was put in office largely on the promise of more jobs for more people and on significantly reducing the homeless problem" but "made some dents on both of those but nothing significant". CNN analysts noted that the progressive Democrat is expected to pose a tougher challenge to Bass than Pratt would have in a city where Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans. This framing emphasized Raman as offering genuine ideological contrast to Bass's establishment politics. Left-leaning coverage generally omitted detailed discussion of why Raman had previously endorsed Bass before entering the race, or scrutiny of whether her late entry into the race strategic rather than based on genuine conviction about municipal failures. Coverage also downplayed the fact that some Democratic Socialist council members chose to endorse Bass over Raman, despite her DSA membership.

Right-Leaning Perspective

Conservative outlets, particularly Fox News, framed the race as a choice between Bass's leadership record and Raman's progressive agenda. Fox News characterized how Raman "advanced Monday evening to a runoff election against Mayor Karen Bass in a heated race that has garnered national attention," setting up "a general election that pits Bass, an incumbent fending off criticism about her record, against Raman's progressive message of government-led affordability measures". Bass herself attacked Raman from the right, with Bass posting on X that "We won on Tuesday — and LA rejected Spencer Pratt and the MAGA agenda. Next, we'll win in November!" and criticizing Raman for allowing "encampments near schools and fights against hiring more cops". Right-wing commentators also framed Pratt's elimination through an election integrity lens. Trump's position was that "his favored candidate to become Los Angeles mayor looks like he won't even make the runoff — a reality that has provoked a barrage of unsubstantiated claims of fraud from the commander in chief". Trump wrote on social media: "Not possible for Spencer Pratt to have lost the L.A. runoffs after the big lead he had, 3rd World Nation. Rigged Elections!" Far-right influencer Laura Loomer claimed "The Mayoral election in Los Angeles is being stolen from @spencerpratt in real time! Where is the DOJ?" Right-leaning coverage emphasized Bass's vulnerabilities and Raman's radical positions, while devoting significant attention to fraud allegations and election process criticism. The coverage downplayed Raman's strong performance in progressive neighborhoods and her accumulated voter support in the latter half of the count.

Deep Dive

Incumbent mayor Karen Bass announced her re-election bid in July 2024, expecting to defend her first term. However, her administration faced significant challenges. Bass's much-criticized response to the wildfires that devastated large swaths of the Pacific Palisades in January 2025 became a focal point for criticism. She faced backlash during and after the destructive wildfires, including for being out of the country when they broke out. Additionally, homelessness and budget challenges persisted. Raman announced her candidacy on February 7, just hours before the deadline to file paperwork to enter the race, despite having endorsed Bass for reelection a couple of months before. Pratt had come to renewed prominence by channeling popular resentment against city government for its handling of the Palisades Fire, in which he had lost his home the previous year; he became a focal point of Republican support. What made this race distinctive was that voter dissatisfaction manifested across the political spectrum, but in opposite directions. Pratt sought to take advantage of public dissatisfaction in the city, but the difficulty was that grievances around homelessness and the sense LA was on the wrong track appear to have helped boost Raman even more, as "the leftist critique was less prominent" but nonetheless resonated more than the rightist one. Election data shows that large numbers of Democrats held onto their mail ballots and returned them in the race's final days, which helps explain why Bass and Raman have been doing better than Pratt in the votes counted since primary day. The left gained traction with voters frustrated by establishment failures; the right could not translate anti-Bass sentiment into Republican votes in a 2-to-1 Democratic county. A critical unresolved question heading into November is whether Raman can expand beyond her progressive base to win a majority, or whether Bass can consolidate Democratic establishment support and undecided voters. Democratic consultant Bill Carrick noted Raman "is going to have to expand beyond her ideological base," as "the people who didn't vote for Nithya weren't voting against her, they were voting for somebody else," while "Karen (Bass) had a good number of people who were voting against her". A Los Angeles Times poll showed Raman took 32% support to Bass' 28% in a one-on-one matchup scenario, a lead within the margin of error, while "a whopping 40% of respondents said they weren't sure or wouldn't vote, pointing to a more volatile campaign".

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Los Angeles mayoral race heads to November runoff

Karen Bass and Nithya Raman advance to November runoff for LA mayor after primary voting

Jun 10, 2026
What's Going On

Karen Bass and Nithya Raman will advance to the November runoff election for Los Angeles mayor, eliminating Republican former reality TV star Spencer Pratt. Raman overtook Spencer Pratt for second place as ballots continued to be counted over the week following the nonpartisan top-two primary held on June 2, 2026. Bass was leading the pack with 37% of the vote on Tuesday night, while in an updated batch of election results on Monday, Bass maintained her lead with 34% of the vote, while Raman rose to 29% and Spencer Pratt stayed at 26%. With 93% of the vote tabulated on June 8, election observers concluded that Bass and Raman advanced to a runoff election, with Pratt and all other candidates eliminated.

Left says: Progressive city council member Nithya Raman has advanced to a November runoff against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, setting up an unexpected matchup between two Democrats and former political allies, with Raman offering a more aggressive left-wing challenge to the incumbent.
Right says: Nithya Raman advanced Monday evening to a runoff election against Mayor Karen Bass, pitting an incumbent fending off criticism against Raman's progressive message of government-led affordability measures.
✓ Common Ground
Both Raman and Pratt attracted voters who aren't happy with the city's status quo, with housing nonprofit worker Tanika Vickers saying she was frustrated with how tax dollars were spent and felt "forgotten" as a taxpayer
Both right and center-left analysts acknowledged that the election was not a vote of confidence in Bass, who received under 35% of the vote, a vulnerable position for an incumbent
Both perspectives acknowledged Bass faced significant backlash during and after last year's destructive wildfires, including for being out of the country when they broke out, with fires burning over 16,000 structures, and 56% of LA Times poll respondents in March expressing unfavorable views of the mayor
Objective Deep Dive

Incumbent mayor Karen Bass announced her re-election bid in July 2024, expecting to defend her first term. However, her administration faced significant challenges. Bass's much-criticized response to the wildfires that devastated large swaths of the Pacific Palisades in January 2025 became a focal point for criticism. She faced backlash during and after the destructive wildfires, including for being out of the country when they broke out. Additionally, homelessness and budget challenges persisted. Raman announced her candidacy on February 7, just hours before the deadline to file paperwork to enter the race, despite having endorsed Bass for reelection a couple of months before. Pratt had come to renewed prominence by channeling popular resentment against city government for its handling of the Palisades Fire, in which he had lost his home the previous year; he became a focal point of Republican support.

What made this race distinctive was that voter dissatisfaction manifested across the political spectrum, but in opposite directions. Pratt sought to take advantage of public dissatisfaction in the city, but the difficulty was that grievances around homelessness and the sense LA was on the wrong track appear to have helped boost Raman even more, as "the leftist critique was less prominent" but nonetheless resonated more than the rightist one. Election data shows that large numbers of Democrats held onto their mail ballots and returned them in the race's final days, which helps explain why Bass and Raman have been doing better than Pratt in the votes counted since primary day. The left gained traction with voters frustrated by establishment failures; the right could not translate anti-Bass sentiment into Republican votes in a 2-to-1 Democratic county.

A critical unresolved question heading into November is whether Raman can expand beyond her progressive base to win a majority, or whether Bass can consolidate Democratic establishment support and undecided voters. Democratic consultant Bill Carrick noted Raman "is going to have to expand beyond her ideological base," as "the people who didn't vote for Nithya weren't voting against her, they were voting for somebody else," while "Karen (Bass) had a good number of people who were voting against her". A Los Angeles Times poll showed Raman took 32% support to Bass' 28% in a one-on-one matchup scenario, a lead within the margin of error, while "a whopping 40% of respondents said they weren't sure or wouldn't vote, pointing to a more volatile campaign".

◈ Tone Comparison

Left-leaning outlets used language emphasizing Raman as "progressive" and operating outside the establishment despite being a councilwoman, while Fox News and conservative commentators emphasized Bass's tenure and framed Raman's policies as extreme. Right-wing outlets devoted substantial coverage to fraud allegations and election process criticism, language notably absent in left-leaning coverage, which instead focused on voter messaging and policy substance.