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Karen Bass Concedes Los Angeles Mayoral Race to Nithya Raman
Confirmed
In Short: Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass conceded the Los Angeles mayoral race to City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who becomes the city's first South Asian mayor.
Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass conceded the Los Angeles mayoral race to City Councilwoman Nithya Raman on Thursday, handing over the reins of the city to its first South Asian mayor.
According to updated counts released by the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office, Raman holds an outright lead with 429,450 votes, representing 52.1% of the total, while Bass earned 47.9%.
Bass called Raman Thursday morning to concede, handing Raman the win, per the L.A. Times. In her concession statement, Bass wrote, 'While this is not the outcome we hoped for, the people of Los Angeles have spoken. I have called Councilmember Nithya Raman to congratulate her on her victory, and I have committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition. Moving this city forward is what Los Angeles needs from all of us.'
Raman, 45, overtook Bass despite the incumbent’s support from prominent Democrats such as California Governor Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In her victory speech, Raman promised to restore what she called an ambitious, creative, and entrepreneurial Los Angeles.
Raman has obtained 51.7 percent of the votes counted so far, while Bass has 48.3 percent, according to the Economic Times. She held a lead of approximately 26,000 votes, or 3 percentage points, out of 784,262 votes counted, as reported by Riverside.
The Associated Press called the race for Raman on Thursday afternoon, confirming her lead. Raman, speaking at her Election Night party Tuesday in Griffith Park, said voters wanted change. 'For too long our broken and unjust status quo has convinced Angelenos that this is the best that we can do,' she told the crowd.
The all-Democratic election, which drew significant input from Hollywood and attention from Washington, D.C., largely served as a referendum on the leadership Bass has provided for the city while also representing a larger wave of socialist and progressive electoral victories around the country.
Raman becomes the second democratic socialist to be elected this week as mayor of a major U.S. City, following the victory of Eric Adams in New York City. A record number of candidates backed or affiliated with the DSA won federal offices in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Bass, in her concession statement, also highlighted her tenure as mayor. 'Four years ago, you elected me as the first Black woman mayor in the history of Los Angeles. You gave me the honor of serving the city that raised me, and every single day since, I have carried that responsibility with me,' she wrote.
The Palisades and Eaton fires were not Bass’ fault, but they were crippling crises that turned a mostly sedate electorate into an enraged one. A labor leader who backed Raman noted, 'Even though every city councilperson said they were standing with Karen Bass, not very many of the people they represent followed them to the polls.'
"The voters were betrayed. That gave us an opportunity to compete everywhere," he said. -ABC News' Faith Abubey, Oren Oppenheim and Brendon Baur Outgoing Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who conceded her Senate race to Democrat Troy Jackson, told The New York Times on Wednesday that she was “caught up in the Trump tsunami” that also took her Republican colleagues this election cycle, which saw Democrats pick up seven seats with the chance of possibly adding two more depending on the election results in Alaska and Mississippi.
What this adds
The election results came as a surprise, as pre-election polling suggested Bass was positioned to win another term. A poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, in partnership with the Los Angeles Times, found both candidates receiving 40% support among likely voters, while 19% remained undecided.
Background
Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass conceded the Los Angeles mayoral race to City Councilwoman Nithya Raman on Thursday, handing over the reins of the city to its first South Asian mayor.
Democrat Karen Bass conceded the Los Angeles mayoral race to Nithya Raman, who becomes the city's first South Asian mayor.
What's confirmed
- "While this is not the outcome we hoped for, the people of Los Angeles have spoken. I have called Councilmember Nithya Raman to congratulate her on her victory, and I have committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition. Moving this city forward is what Los Angeles needs from all of us," Bass wrote in a statement.
- The Associated Press called the race for Raman on Thursday afternoon.
- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she had reached out to her one-time ally to concede the election, handing the reins of victory to Raman, who becomes the first South Asian mayor of the nation’s second-most populous city.
- According to updated counts released by the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office, Raman holds an outright lead with 429,450 votes, representing 52.1% of the total.
- Nithya Raman is increasing her lead over Mayor Karen Bass in the Los Angeles mayoral election.
- “Four years ago, you elected me as the first Black woman mayor in the history of Los Angeles. You gave me the honor of serving the city that raised me, and every single day since, I have carried that responsibility with me,” Bass wrote.
- “For too long our broken and unjust status quo has convinced Angelenos that this is the best that we can do,” she told the crowd.
What's still developing
- Democrat Scott Colom spoke with ABC News on Thursday at a diner in Jackson, Mississippi, as race between him and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith remains tight -- with around 1,000 votes separating the two, according to the current vote count.
- Democrats won several key races in the high-stakes midterm elections -- with ABC News projecting that Democrats will take control of the Senate and the House.
- The letter comes ahead of House GOP leadership elections scheduled for Nov.
- The result came as a surprise, as pre-election polling suggested Bass was positioned to win another term.
- Raman, meanwhile, argued that the city needed fresh leadership that was not captive to relationships at City Hall.
- The survey, conducted October 19-25, represents a significant shift from September, when Raman held an 11-percentage-point advantage over Bass.
- Both Bass and Raman have pledged to do a lot for the film industry — but if you were running for mayor of Los Angeles right now, would you say anything else?
- “As we await for the votes to be counted, there is one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty, I have never been more proud of our city, more grateful for its people or more hopeful about what we can accomplish together,” Bass said.
- DSA-backed Raman will lead America’s second largest city, promising action on homelessness and affordable housing.
- A poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, in partnership with the Los Angeles Times, found both candidates receiving 40% support among likely voters, while 19% remained undecided.