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 in California's largest city. The outcome means Spencer Pratt, a Republican and former reality television personality from "The Hills," is out of the running despite attracting national attention with his celebrity candidacy.

Raman made a last-minute entry into the race after initially endorsing Bass for reelection. She was elected to the council with support from the Democratic Socialists of America, and the election will test whether voters in the heavily Democratic city want to move further to the political left to address long-running problems of homelessness, deteriorating infrastructure, and climbing rent and home prices.

What the Left Is Saying

Raman positioned herself as a candidate for residents frustrated with the city's direction. "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," Raman said in a statement. "For too long, City Hall has prioritized giving political advantage to powerful interests that fund elections. Meanwhile, working people pay the price in higher rents, depleted services and a city that has stopped working for them."

Raman has promised to speed up housing construction, bring back entertainment industry jobs, and improve services in a city known for dirty streets, gridlock, and homeless encampments. "What we are doing right now is just not working," Raman said. "LA's primary strategy for homelessness has been to move encampments from one block to another... It's political theater."

Tanika Vickers, who works for a housing nonprofit in Los Angeles, said she felt part of a group that works and pays taxes but has been forgotten. She said she voted for Raman because she was most qualified to execute her plans. "I think that we are all looking for change," Vickers said.

Raman gained votes on Pratt in every update since Election Day as Los Angeles processed additional mail ballots. She moved past Pratt into second place on Sunday and extended her lead by nearly 22,000 votes by Monday.

What the Right Is Saying

Bass represents the Democratic establishment as the incumbent mayor, backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and influential labor unions. She served in the state Legislature and Congress before becoming mayor in 2022 and was under consideration to be former President Joe Biden's running mate in 2020.

The Bass campaign signaled its intended contrast with Raman. "A campaign against Nithya Raman, who allows encampments near schools and cuts the police force, is one Mayor Bass looks forward to winning," said Bass campaign strategist Douglas Herman.

Raman's positions on policing have drawn criticism from law enforcement allies. She once discussed a much smaller police department and posted "defund the police" on social media in 2020. The police union ran ads calling her "Flip Floppin' Raman." While Raman now says the Los Angeles Police Department should remain at its current size of about 8,600 officers, down from roughly 10,000 in 2020, critics question her consistency.

Democratic consultant Bill Carrick said Raman will need to expand beyond her ideological base. "I don't think it's impossible, but she is going to have to expand beyond her ideological base," Carrick said. He added that many voters not supporting Raman were not voting against her but rather for someone else, while Bass had significant numbers of people voting against her.

What the Numbers Show

Bass received under 35% of the vote according to incomplete returns, a vulnerable position for an incumbent in California's largest city of nearly 4 million residents. The mayoral race was technically nonpartisan, so candidates appeared on the ballot without party identification next to their names.

Raman ultimately surpassed Pratt by nearly 22,000 votes as mail ballots continued to be counted. Election data shows that large numbers of Democrats held onto their mail ballots and returned them in the race's final days, which analysts say helps explain why Bass and Raman performed better than Pratt in votes counted since primary day.

It took nearly a week to determine who would face Bass in November due to California's notoriously slow vote-counting process. Ballots are mailed to every eligible voter and are counted if postmarked by Election Day and arrive at an election office within seven days.

The Bottom Line

The matchup sets the field in one of California's two marquee races, with the other being the governor's race where Democrat Xavier Becerra advanced to the general election. Bass is the first Black woman to hold the Los Angeles mayoral post, and Raman could become the first South Asian woman in the job.

To win outright without a recount, either candidate will need to surpass 50% of the vote in November. Both candidates must now work to build broader coalitions across Los Angeles' diverse ethnic and geographic communities. The race will test whether progressive policies can gain majority support or whether voters prefer the incumbent's more moderate approach to addressing homelessness, housing costs, and city services.

Raman and Pratt, despite being political opposites, both attracted voters unhappy with the city's status quo. Raman now inherits much of that anti-establishment energy while Bass must shore up her base and appeal to moderates who may have backed other candidates in the primary.