LA’s newer, bluer wave: Nithya Raman leads way as city’s progressives make their mark
Democratic socialists won the mayorship, a US House seat and powerful positions in Los Angeles – and a large network of volunteers helped them do it As a blue tsunami overtook US politics this week, Los Angeles saw a major shake-up of its own with a wave of democratic socialists elected to key offices. Most notably, Nithya Raman, the first democratic socialist to serve on the Los Angeles city council, prevailed over…
Key points
- Nithya Raman defeated incumbent Karen Bass to become Los Angeles mayor.
- DSA-LA-endorsed candidates won the city attorney race, a US House seat and other local offices.
- DSA-LA volunteers knocked on more than 110,000 doors during the election season.
Nithya Raman, the first democratic socialist to serve on the Los Angeles city council, has defeated incumbent Karen Bass to become the city's next mayor. Her victory came as a slate of candidates endorsed by DSA-LA won key offices across Los Angeles, including a US House seat and the city attorney's post.
DSA-LA said the results were its largest-ever slate of candidate victories, following a campaign in which volunteers knocked on more than 110,000 doors. With Raman's win, America's two largest cities will be run by democratic socialist mayors, the article states.
Other victories for the left
Marissa Roy won the city attorney race with 67.39% of the vote, according to the latest available data. Angela Gonzales-Torres defeated incumbent Jimmy Gomez for a US House seat with 60.6% to his 39.4%; Gomez had served in Congress for nearly a decade and was backed by Aipac, which spent $2.7m on his candidacy.
Other endorsed members won seats on school boards and the Burbank city council, which DSA-LA said gives Burbank the first socialist-majority city council on the west coast. The chapter had more than 6,000 members as of last month and said another 2,000 joined this week alone.
These results show us what we’ve known for a long time: Angelenos are looking for an alternative to politicians beholden to billionaires and corporate interests
— Anna Gross, a DSA-LA steering member
Why the race turned
DSA support gave Raman a large volunteer network that canvassed across the city. Her campaign was also helped by Bass's unpopularity: polling has long shown Angelenos are frustrated with the city, and resentment over Bass's handling of the Palisades fire damaged her.
Zev Yaroslavsky of UCLA's Luskin School said the fire was central to the outcome. "The majority of the people of the city, a significant majority, think that the city is on the wrong track," he said.
The endorsement was complicated: DSA-affiliated colleagues had already backed Bass, the chapter censured Raman in 2024, and a national vote on rescinding support failed shortly before the election. Raman said she would work to earn the trust of voters who backed Bass or stayed home.
