City Councilwoman Nithya Raman has been announced as the winner of the Los Angeles mayoral election, surpassing incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, as reported by Decision Desk HQ.
Currently, Raman has garnered 405,193 votes, translating to 51.67 percent, while Bass trails with 379,069 votes, or 48.33 percent. This results in a margin of 26,124 votes, roughly 3.3 percentage points, with between 67 to 72 percent of ballots counted and about 784,000 votes processed.
The projection was made nearly 24 hours post the closure of polls on November 3. Ongoing counting of mail and provisional ballots is being handled by Los Angeles County officials, with official results anticipated later this month.
Decision Desk HQ projects Nithya Raman wins the CA Los Angeles Mayor Nonpartisan General Election#DecisionMade: 7:49 PM EST
Follow live results here: https://t.co/1kpbRZUYUv pic.twitter.com/LHwjhhfjjz
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 5, 2026
Initial returns on Election Night showed Bass leading by about 1.5 to 2 points; however, the gap tightened as more ballots were processed. Raman took the lead shortly after midnight and widened it with Wednesday’s updates.
Experts have pointed out that later ballots in Los Angeles typically favor a younger and more progressive electorate, which aligns with Raman’s voter base.
In the nonpartisan primary on June 2, neither candidate achieved a majority, resulting in a runoff. Bass secured first place with 292,593 votes (34.3 percent), while Raman followed with 247,781 votes (29.0 percent). Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt finished third with 217,977 votes (25.5 percent).
Raman advanced to the runoff after initially trailing Pratt in preliminary returns, overtaking him as additional ballots were counted in the following days. Although several candidates were in the primary race, the top three held the majority of votes.
First elected to the City Council in 2020, Raman entered the mayoral race after previously endorsing Bass. She campaigned on a platform featuring city management reforms, reevaluation of homelessness funding, and other progressive initiatives, bolstered by support from the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
