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Bass heads to runoff
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass advanced to November’s run-off election after early Wednesday counts showed her leading the nonpartisan mayoral primary with 35% of the vote and 63% of ballots counted, with BBC’s US partner CBS News projecting she was first through.
Spencer Pratt, a reality television star, was in second place with 30%, while city council member Nithya Raman was third with 22% as votes were still being counted late on Tuesday night.
NBC News projections cited Bass as receiving nearly 35% of the votes with more than 63% of ballots counted Tuesday night, while Pratt was in second place with over 30% and distancing himself from Raman in third.
The BBC said the winner would lead the second-largest city in the US, grappling with homelessness and affordable housing as Los Angeles gears up to host the 2028 Olympics.
The BBC also framed the mayoral contest as part of California’s “jungle primaries,” where the top two candidates advance regardless of party affiliation if no candidate reaches 50%.
Pratt, Raman challenge Bass
As vote counting continued, MyNewsLA’s unofficial results from Tuesday showed Bass leading with 34.8% or 172,720 votes, Pratt at 30.4% or 151,149 votes, and Raman at 22.3% or 110,848 votes.
Bass told supporters at her election night watch party Tuesday at The LINE LA Hotel, saying, “I will tell you, it’s looking good so far. We got a lot more to go, but so far it’s looking good,” and she pledged to continue efforts to reduce homelessness and improve public safety.
Pratt said he was confident he could persuade voters to back him over Bass in a runoff, telling reporters, “I have five months now to prove that to them. … I’m confident with five months in their own communities with their community leaders,” and he added, “This is the first time since 2005 that an incumbent is going to a runoff.”
Raman, speaking at her downtown election night watch party, said her campaign had challenged powerful interests and argued, “They came at us with everything that they have — the corporate landlords, the city hall insiders, the corporations who have spent years making sure City Hall worked for them, and not for the people,” and “And we said no.”
The Los Angeles Times said Raman was in third place behind Pratt and Bass and quoted Zev Yaroslavsky urging, “Don’t count [Councilmember] Nithya Raman out yet,” as uncounted vote-by-mail ballots were expected to skew in Democrats’ favor.
What’s at stake next
NBC News projections said Wednesday would bring the first substantial post-Election Day ballot update, with LA County processing and scanning vote-by-mail ballots between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. before providing an update around 4 p.m.
“Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass advances to run-off in race to run California's biggest city Incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass has advanced to November's run-off election to determine who will run California's largest city, Los Angeles”
LAist described the stakes for the next mayor as Los Angeles confronting homelessness, housing affordability, Palisades Fire recovery, and preparation for the 2028 Olympics, while noting the city’s next mayor would be the face of the nation’s second-largest city.
LAist also quoted Bass telling a cheering crowd, “We have laid a foundation, and we’re going to build on that foundation,” and Pratt saying, “I’m going to prove to everyone this is for real, and I’m ready to run this city,” as the candidates fought for one of two spots likely to become a November runoff.
The Hill quoted CNN analyst Van Jones saying Pratt’s rise was a “wake up call for Democratic Party establishment in the state of California,” and Jones added, “We’ve got two, kind of, wild personality types that are probably going to drag us into … a runoff.”
In the background of the mayoral race, the BBC said Bass had faced criticism after the Palisades Fire in January 2025 that “destroyed thousands of homes and left 12 people dead,” and it said Pratt’s campaign framed him as a critic of Bass and California leadership.
