Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman is projected to unseat Mayor Karen Bass and become the city’s next mayor, according to Decision Desk HQ, which called the race at 4:49 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4.
The call is based on preliminary, uncertified returns. In the county Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk‘s 4:28 p.m. Wednesday update, Raman had 405,193 votes, or 51.67%, and Bass had 379,069, or 48.33%. That put Raman ahead by 26,124 votes out of 784,262 counted in the contest.
Many ballots remain. NBC Los Angeles and The Basin each estimated that about 67% of the expected city vote had been counted as of that update.
Decision Desk HQ, an election results and analysis service, announced the projection on X, writing: “Decision Desk HQ projects Nithya Raman wins the CA Los Angeles Mayor Nonpartisan General Election”.
NBC News still rated the race too early to call in NBC Los Angeles’ Wednesday afternoon report. The Angeleno had not confirmed a call from any other news organization at the time of publication.
The lead changed hands overnight. Bass was ahead when the first returns were posted Tuesday night, and Raman moved in front in county updates released after midnight, according to The Basin’s update-by-update tally. By the 3:11 a.m. Wednesday update, Raman led 377,458 to 360,864, according to the Los Angeles Almanac, a gap of 16,594 votes. The afternoon count widened it by another 9,530.
Before the call, Raman’s campaign said it would hold off on a statement until it had more information, and Bass’ campaign declined to comment Wednesday, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Speaking to supporters at the Greek Theatre plaza on election night, Raman said, “Hopelessness can be fatal for a city,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Bass told her own election night crowd at the Loews Hollywood Hotel, “I will always fight for the city that we deserve,” the Times reported.
Raman was first elected to the council in 2020 and represents the 4th Council District, which takes in neighborhoods including Los Feliz, Silver Lake, the Hollywood Hills, Sherman Oaks, Studio City and Encino. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, she entered the race in February, weeks after she had publicly endorsed Bass, the Times reported.
Bass, a former member of Congress and the state Legislature, was sworn in as the city’s 43rd mayor in December 2022, the first woman to hold the job. Her standing slipped after the 2025 Palisades fire, which broke out while she was overseas on a diplomatic trip, and she drew 34% of the vote in the June 2 primary.
Ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days will still be counted, LAist reports. The Registrar’s next update is set for 9 to 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, and the county is scheduled to certify the election results on Nov. 27.
