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Nithya Raman trails Bass narrowly as LA race opens: Poll
Raman, despite launching her campaign last month, is within striking distance of Bass, with a quarter of voters still undecided.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Mon, 23, Mar 2026
- 00:30 EDT
- 37
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman / Wikimedia commons
A couple of months ahead of the June 2 primary in the Los Angeles mayoral race, Kerala-born Nithya Raman is currently in second place, a few percentage points behind incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, according to a recent poll.
In the poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, City Council member Raman drew 17 percent of the vote compared with veteran Democrat Bass’ 25 percent. Raman remained ahead of conservative reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who registered 14 percent in the poll.
The survey of 840 likely voters, conducted between March 9 and 15, offered an early snapshot of the upcoming primary.
ALSO READ: Nithya Raman launches Griffith bike lane for safer LA streets
Raman’s progressive campaign, which centers on social upliftment and environmental issues, is likely to be boosted by the poll results, considering she entered the race only recently and has since mounted a strong challenge to the incumbent.
Another factor working in her favor is that more than 25 percent of voters remain undecided, according to the poll.\
LOS ANGELES POLL - Mayor
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) March 22, 2026
Karen Bass (inc) — 25%
Nithya Raman — 17%
Spencer Pratt — 14%
Adam Miller — 6%
Rae Huang — 8%
Not sure: 26%
——
Fav-unfav
Raman: 26-23 (+3)
Pratt: 17-28 (-11)
Bass: 31-56 (-25)
Berkeley IGS (A) | 3/9-15 | 840 LVhttps://t.co/DNLDntJhEP
Raman described the poll findings as “big news,” saying, “A new LA Times poll just dropped and we’re the top challenger in the race. Even though we’ve only been running for a few weeks, our movement is clearly resonating across the city.”
She also highlighted disparities in campaign resources, appealing for public support. She said, “While we’re closing in on the first-place incumbent, we’re being massively outspent by establishment interests. We are running a corporate-free campaign that relies on folks like you to support.”
Raman has not shied away from taking on Bass, whom she had supported for years. Speaking at a press conference after filing her candidacy, she said the city “is no longer a place of opportunity,” in a direct critique of the incumbent Democratic mayor.
Raman added, “Los Angeles is at a breaking point, and people feel it in the most basic ways.”
Big news…
— Nithya Raman (@nithyavraman) March 23, 2026
A new LA Times poll just dropped and we’re the top challenger in the race.
Even though we’ve only been running for a few weeks, our movement is clearly resonating across the city.
While we’re closing in on the first place incumbent, we’re being massively outspent… pic.twitter.com/VC7TWCWXpg
Nithya Raman is also the first Los Angeles City Council member elected with backing from the Democratic Socialists of America, the same group that helped elect Zohran Mamdani as New York City mayor last fall.
Raman is an urban planner by training and a homelessness activist. She became the first woman sworn in to the Los Angeles City Council in 2022. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in urban planning from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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