The Los Angeles mayoral race is heating up as votes continue to be tallied. Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass has taken an early lead, with Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt hot on her heels. The election, held on June 7, 2026, has drawn significant attention due to the city’s pressing issues, including recovery from the devastating 2026 wildfireshomelessness, and economic challenges.
With 66% of the expected vote counted, Bass holds a commanding lead at 35%, followed by Pratt at 29% and Raman at 23%. The race is nonpartisan, but Bass and Raman are Democrats, while Pratt is a registered Republican. The top two candidates will advance to a runoff election on November 3, 2026.
Bass’s campaign focuses on safety and affordability
Mayor Bass, seeking a second term, has positioned herself as a candidate who will make Los Angeles safer and more affordable. She highlighted her accomplishments, including streamlining affordable housing projects, reducing street homelessness through her Inside Safe program, and revitalizing the downtown area. Bass also touted progress in reducing crime and working toward the city’s zero-emissions goal.
“The city I’ve been in my whole life, the city that I love, I feel we have accomplished a lot, but we’re not done,” Bass said. “Until every Palisadian is back home. I will not rest until L.A. is affordable, until one paycheck is enough and families don’t have to double up or triple up. And I will not rest until there are no Angelenos on our streets.”
Raman’s late entry and progressive platform
Nithya Raman, a Los Angeles city council member, entered the race late, driven by frustration with the city’s bureaucratic limitations. She has criticized the city’s slow response to basic needs and advocates for a different approach to address the city’s challenges. Raman’s platform focuses on expanding affordable housing, reducing homelessness, and bringing jobs back to Hollywood.
“It gets harder and harder for me to look at them in the face and to say, ‘I can’t fix your streetlight for a year.’ I don’t think that’s an acceptable answer,” Raman told Eyewitness News in February. “I’ve hit up against my limitations as a council member. I’ve done a lot, but to do what needs to be done at this moment, to make sure departments are doing their job, to make sure that we’re organized to face the incredible moment of crisis and challenge that we’re at right now, we need to be doing something differently at the very top.”
Pratt’s outsider campaign and criticism of city response
Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV star, has launched a campaign centered on criticism of the city’s disaster response, particularly the handling of the Palisades Fire, which destroyed his home. Pratt has criticized Mayor Bass’s administration, arguing that the city’s quality of life and affordability have worsened under her leadership.
“We have no other choice, so it’s pretty simple. We can’t do four more years of Karen Bass,” Pratt said. “I want what everybody wants: quality of life, affordability, you can go on. Everything the mayor has said she wants to do. She’s had four years to do it, and everything is worse.”
Pratt’s campaign focuses on emergency readiness, public safety, small business empowerment, and a treatment-first approach to homelessness. Despite being a political outsider, Pratt has gained traction, currently holding the second spot in the vote count.
The Los Angeles mayoral race continues to evolve as votes are counted. With Bass leading and Raman and Pratt vying for the second runoff spot, the city awaits the final results to determine who will face off in the November election.
