Nithya Raman Advances in Los Angeles Mayoral Primary

New York — Nithya Raman, a Democratic Socialist in the mold of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, has emerged as the challenger to embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in the November election to lead the second-largest U.S. city.

Raman took second place in the open primary, edging out Republican candidate Spencer Pratt to face Democrat Bass in a runoff, according to media calculations reported Monday. Official counting was still underway nearly a week after the election.

Raman, like Mamdani, made affordability a central focus of her campaign in a city known for Hollywood glamour but struggling with homelessness, high housing costs and public service challenges. Her campaign is seeking to build on grassroots Democratic Socialist progressive momentum.

If she defeats Bass in November, the two largest U.S. cities would be led by leftist Democrats of Indian heritage.

Some polls put Bass’ disapproval rate at more than 55 percent, while only 35 percent of voters had an unfavorable view of Raman.

Raman, 44, was born in Kerala to a Tamil family and moved to the United States when she was 6 years old.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she returned to India to set up Transparent Chennai, a research organization focused on sanitation and environmental issues.

After returning to the United States, Raman worked for the city before becoming involved in homelessness advocacy.

She was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020, riding a wave of progressive support that later helped set the stage for her mayoral bid.

Bass, 76, is a veteran California politician and former speaker of the state Assembly. She succeeded Eric Garcetti, who was appointed U.S. ambassador to India by former President Joe Biden.

Bass has faced criticism over her handling of fires that devastated large parts of Los Angeles, destroying more than 12,000 homes and 4,000 other buildings.

When the fires began in January last year, Bass, who is African American, was in Ghana. She later faced scrutiny over the city’s response and the continuing aftermath.

Raman has argued that behind Los Angeles’ entertainment-industry image are deep problems involving homelessness, housing affordability and delays in emergency services.

“If you’re as frustrated by the broken status quo as I am, I hope you’ll join our movement to build a city that works for everyone,” she said.

Bass was earlier declared the top candidate in the mayoral primary after crossing the 34 percent mark.

As of Monday, she had 28.6 percent of the vote to Pratt’s 25.8 percent, leading to the media declaration. Pratt had been leading for second place until Sunday, when Raman overtook him.

President Donald Trump, who backed Pratt, alleged the election was rigged, repeating allegations he has made about the U.S. electoral system since his 2020 defeat.

“No way this could have happened. Rigged Election!” Trump posted on Truth Social about the Los Angeles primary early Monday. (Source: IANS)