'I'm very hopeful,' Raman says of her chances; Bass leads election night crowd in chanting 'Four more years'
Karen Bass and Nithya Raman are in a tight race for L.A. mayor in early returns, and the race may not be called for days.
At Raman’s election-night event in the plaza of the Greek Theatre, the mood was buoyant as the crowd watched Democrat wins steadily march across the South and East.
“I can’t believe South Carolina,” a young male Raman supporter enthused to his crowd, which milled around the open-air space outside the historic venue tucked into the Los Feliz foothills. Related Stories J.K. Rowling’s Agent Slams Trans Rights Protest at ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ in London: It Put ‘Others at Risk’
Raman addressed her supporters shortly after 11 p.m. She conceded no ground to Bass. “I’m very hopeful,” she told the crowd as the vote count showed a razor-thin margin of difference between them.
Raman, who first joined the Los Angeles City Council in 2020, came out swinging against the L.A. political establishment. “This city’s government has made solving problems look impossible for so long,” Raman said. “Hopelessness can be fatal for a city.”
Raman also sought to cast herself as part of Los Angeles’ long history of serving as a haven for cutting-edge organizations and individuals of uncommon ambition. The legacy that stretches from the movie business to UCLA’s role in sending “the very first message across the internet” has made the city “the cultural capital of the entire planet,” Raman said.
In an unguarded moment, Raman seemed to nod to criticism of her political agenda and leadership style that she’s received since launching her surprise campaign for mayor in February. “Radical and divisive, right here,” she said with a grin.
Bass addressed her supporters nearby at the Loews Hollywood Hotel around 9:30 p.m., leading with the news that the Democrats had taken both the House and the Senate. In her own race, she acknowledged the results might not be known for some time.
“It takes a while to count the vote in our city,” she said, but added she was confident that in the end, “we will achieve victory.”
She then led the crowd in a chant of “Four more years!”
At Raman’s event, giant-screen TVs lined the plaza, offering election updates, though virtually everyone was following the polls on phone apps. The young crowd roared at the news of Democrat Gina Hinojosa’s historic upset victory in the Texas gubernatorial race.
Early returns from Los Angeles showing Raman in a near dead heat with Bass were seen as a positive sign by Raman’s faithful supporters. The crowd was packed with man buns, UAW T-shirts, UCLA sweatshirts and Dodger caps. The conversation focused on the future of Democratic Socialists of America and what the blue wave means for this rising progressive movement that Raman has been connected to in the past.
Raman campaign manager Ian Manheimer tried to pep up the crowd around 8:45 p.m., but there was still no sign of the candidate herself. No matter what happens after the votes are counted, he assured the crowd that their full-throated support for Raman’s abbreviated run for mayor has made a difference. “You have pushed the city forward,” he said.
The Bass team’s attitude before the 8 p.m. ballot deadline was one of confidence and regularity. The mayoral incumbent had been here before and her staffers were acting like it, calmly arranging the Lowes Hollywood Ballroom into their election HQ and leaving room for familiar small talk, hugs and light joking.
Outside of Bass’ early encouraging poll numbers, the historic Democratic midterm victories rolling through in the background were an obvious mood booster Tuesday night. As Mark Ramos, chair of the Los Angeles Democratic Party, entered the hall he yelled to an expectant line of camera people, “It’s a good day to be a Democrat!”
The Kalshi odds, which had been slightly favoring Bass before the first ballots were counted, tipped heavily in Raman’s favor afterward. But Bass’ allies sought to convey an upbeat note. “The mayor — her closing has been really, really strong,” Ramos said. “I think we’re going to get a good return when those ballots begin to get counted. I think the mayor got a real wind at her back the last couple weeks.”
When asked about L.A.’s biggest problems, the words on everyone’s lips were affordability, homelessness and housing. Bass has faced criticism for not tackling all three issues more aggressively during her first term, but her fans seemed confident she would finish the job if allowed four more years. “Karen Bass deserves four more years, and that’s why organized labor is kicking ass for Karen Bass and we will continue to kick ass for Karen Bass until she is reelected,” said Yvonne Wheeler, the chair of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.
Voters repeatedly cited trust and familiarity as reasons for voting for Bass. Abby Sher, a 71-year-old lifelong Angelino, has followed Bass’ political career since the ‘70s and praised her early work with the Los Angeles community support group Liberty Hill Foundation. She sees her challenger, Nithya Raman, as an inexperienced outsider, citing the fact that she’s only lived in Los Angeles for 13 years.
“I’m hoping that other people are aware of the substantive difference between the two of them,” Sher said.
For Michael Guy, a 57-year-old consultant who has lived in L.A. for the past 33 years, Bass isn’t his ideal candidate. But with the 2027 Super Bowl and 2028 Olympics, a change in leadership wouldn’t be a “good thing for the city.”
“Sometimes you got to take the dog with the fleas,” he said. “I don’t have anything with Nithya, but the reality is that Karen has more of a track history, good or bad.”
Bass has faced a considerable challenge in winning back voters who are upset about homelessness, civic disorder and her handling of the 2025 Palisades fire. She has sought to acknowledge mistakes while warning that Raman, a lefty councilwoman, would be worse.
Raman, for her part, has cast herself as an outsider going up against a City Hall establishment that is mired in self-serving mediocrity. She has attacked Bass’ record in office and argued that L.A. should set a higher standard.
Raman has been critical of Bass’ handling of the exodus of film and TV jobs, saying that Bass was late to appoint a liaison to the industry and noting the appointee is not full-time. She has pledged to staff a full film office to serve the industry.
Both candidates have also said they will champion unlimited film and TV tax credits at the state level, and push for a federal tax incentive to put the U.S. on equal footing with countries abroad.
Raman had the backing of the Writers Guild of America West, of which her husband is a member; Bass was endorsed by the Hollywood Teamsters, IATSE and the American Federation of Musicians Local 47.
Cynthia Littleton contributed to this report.
Source: Entertainment
0 Comments