Nithya Raman is projected to be L.A.'s 44th mayor; one outlet makes the call while NBC News waits

The projection

Nithya Raman is projected to be the 44th mayor of Los Angeles, according to one outlet. ^[1] If you follow the city's film and TV business, the promise of a Film Czar on staff in the Mayor's office in her opening days is the line to note. ^[2]

Decision Desk H.Q. announced it was projecting a Raman victory, while other major entities such as NBC News had yet to call the race. ^[1] Raman was up more than three percent with nearly three-quarters of expected votes tallied. ^[1]

Where the count stands

By 4 in the morning PT Wednesday, Raman had a narrow lead over Bass, 51.1% to 48.9%, with 738,322 votes (62.7%) counted. ^[2]

The L.A. County Register-Recorder/County Clerk plans additional vote drops for 9 am PT Thursday and on November 6. ^[2]

Who Raman is

Raman, 45, is a Harvard- and MIT-trained urban planner who founded an L.A. homelessness nonprofit. ^[1] She was the executive director of Time's Up, an advocacy organization focused on workplace sexual harassment, before winning her council seat. ^[1] She won that City Council seat in 2020. ^[1]

She first entered City Hall that year with DSA-LA backing, unseating incumbent councilman David Ryu. ^[3] Raman was born in India and will be the city's first Asian American mayor. ^[1]

Housing has been her key policy focus in office. ^[1] She first championed Measure ULA, then later criticized the unintended consequences of the legislation. ^[1]

Her rival and the allies

Bass, 73, was Los Angeles' first female mayor and second Black mayor. ^[1] She spent more than a decade in Congress before the mayor's race, representing a largely African American and Hispanic section of South L.A. ^[1] Joe Biden reportedly gave her serious consideration as his running mate while he was the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in 2020. ^[1]

Raman's last-minute insurgent run put her at odds with a bloc of fellow progressives on the City Council, who had already endorsed Bass. ^[1] County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath was among the top sitting L.A. politicians to endorse Raman. ^[1]

Raman was censured by DSA L.A. in 2024 for not fully adopting its policy positions against Israel. ^[1] In the mayoral race, DSA's local chapter ultimately backed her, while the national DSA leadership challenged that endorsement. ^[1]

The race and the polls

Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt ran a grievance-driven primary campaign after losing his house in the Palisades wildfire, which he argued was due to government negligence. ^[1] Rick Caruso declined to run again but announced in October that he would be voting for Bass. ^[1]

A CA Post poll conducted by John McLaughlin's firm showed Raman leading Bass 46.7% to 38.8% in October. ^[3] A final UC Berkeley survey showed the candidates deadlocked at 40%, after Raman had held an 11-point advantage in September. ^[3]

Dan Schnur said Bass did well with 20th century Los Angeles while Raman did well with 21st century LA. ^[3]