Los Angeles Mayoral Race Divides Left as Democratic Socialists Compete Against Incumbent Bass

With less than a week before Los Angeles's mayoral primary, two democratic socialist candidates are splitting the left vote in a crowded field. Rae Huang, a Presbyterian minister and activist, has campaigned on free buses, affordable housing, and police accountability but has struggled to break 10 percent in polls. Nithya Raman, a city councilmember, entered the race at the February filing deadline and has built more substantial support, positioning herself as a potential alternative to incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. The primary has become a referendum on left strategy: some progressives view a vote for Raman as pragmatic to prevent right-wing reality TV personality Spencer Pratt from advancing to the runoff, while Huang's supporters argue that supporting a bolder left vision is necessary to imagine political alternatives. Raman's record complicates her progressive credentials—she voted to expand the LAPD budget in multiple years despite running on police defunding in 2020, though she has also opposed some police expansion measures. The Democratic Socialists of America local chapter has not endorsed either candidate, and Raman's DSA colleagues on the City Council have endorsed Bass.