Los Angeles Voters Advance Councilmember to Mayoral General Election
Nithya Raman secured second place in the Los Angeles mayoral primary, advancing past Spencer Pratt. She will face the incumbent in November after positioning her campaign around housing, homelessness, and public safety.
TimeLos Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman advanced to the general election for mayor after finishing second in the primary. She edged out Spencer Pratt on Sunday and will now compete against the sitting mayor in November. Raman described the result as an opportunity to continue her campaign.
“I’m incredibly honored that voters have given us the opportunity to advance to the general election for Mayor of Los Angeles,” she said. She defeated an incumbent who had received endorsements from Hillary Clinton and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Voters in that race focused on housing costs and living expenses amid protests following George Floyd’s death. She won re-election to a second term in 2024. During her council tenure, Raman supported measures to lower housing costs, strengthen tenant protections, and advance environmental policies.
Raman has criticized the current mayor’s office for its response to the wildfires that struck southern California early last year. She said residents of the Palisades reported a lack of support from city leadership. The incumbent has countered that Raman has shown low productivity on the council and has struggled to build relationships with colleagues.
Raman responded that one council member has limited ability to push city departments and that stronger leadership is needed at the top.
Raman has called for reforms to federal immigration enforcement. She has advocated requiring agents to display identification and preventing them from concealing their faces during operations. She has also said Los Angeles officials should do more to protect immigrant residents.
Despite those criticisms, Raman stated she would work with the Trump administration if elected. She pointed to Democratic leaders in New York who have engaged with federal officials on similar issues.
““The issue for me as a person who is deeply progressive, as someone who believes in the power of government to do good things and to make our lives better, my goal is to ensure that you, as a resident of Los Angeles, and every resident of Los Angeles, feels like the government is working for them.””
