The Associated Press called the race Monday, confirming that Raman, 44, a progressive council member, had secured the No. 2 spot behind Bass. Pratt, a Republican supported by President Donald Trump, had initially appeared to be in stronger position, but his standing slipped as more ballots were tallied.

The shift angered some Pratt supporters, with some making unsupported claims about the counting process. But California’s election rules often produce extended vote counts because ballots postmarked by Election Day are valid even if they arrive afterward. In this race, later-arriving ballots appeared to favor younger and more liberal voters, benefiting Raman more than Pratt.

Los Angeles remains difficult terrain for a Republican candidate. The city’s electorate is roughly 15% Republican, and Pratt’s support closely tracked Trump’s 2024 performance in a city where the president remains deeply unpopular. Pratt campaigned as an anti-City Hall candidate, seeking to unite voters frustrated with local government, but he finished with about a quarter of the vote.

The result sets up the contest Bass had hoped to avoid: a challenge from her left by a sitting council member with an established progressive base. Raman’s strongest showing came in neighborhoods such as Silver Lake, Hollywood, Echo Park and Glassell Park, areas with large numbers of renters, younger residents and left-leaning voters.

Bass, meanwhile, showed strength across broad portions of South and Central Los Angeles, where Black and Latino voters helped power her first mayoral victory. Those neighborhoods have long been central to Bass’ coalition and remain proud of her role as the first Black woman elected mayor of Los Angeles. They also include communities that have seen significant improvements in safety over recent decades, even as concerns about homelessness, affordability and public services persist.

Still, the runoff presents a serious test for Bass. Nearly two-thirds of voters in the first round cast ballots for someone other than the incumbent, signaling frustration with the direction of City Hall. Raman is expected to press Bass on housing costs, homelessness policy, public safety spending and whether Los Angeles has moved quickly enough to address daily struggles faced by renters and working families.

Raman’s campaign is likely to focus heavily on the city’s affordability crisis, including the high cost of housing and the pace of development. She also has positioned herself as a candidate seeking new approaches to policing and public safety, an issue that could draw sharp contrasts with Bass.

Those questions now move to the center of the mayoral race: whether Los Angeles spends too much of its budget on the Police Department, whether the city’s neighborhood protections slow housing construction, and how officials should handle homeless encampments when shelter and housing options remain limited.

Bass will run on a record that includes declines in crime and street homelessness, though many Angelenos remain impatient with the pace of change. Raman, for her part, will have to convince voters that she can offer a fresh direction while also accounting for her own record on the City Council, where she has served since 2020.

The runoff also leaves a major political question: what happens to the roughly 25% of voters who supported Pratt?

Many of those voters were motivated by opposition to Bass and anger at City Hall. They now face a choice between the incumbent mayor, whom some blame for city failures including the response to the Palisades fire, and Raman, a democratic socialist whom Pratt repeatedly criticized during the campaign. Some may sit out the runoff altogether. Others may find Bass closer to their views, particularly on policing and encampments.

Bass’ first response after Raman advanced suggested how she intends to frame the race. She described Raman as a council member who “allows encampments near schools and cuts the police force,” signaling that the mayor will try to position herself as the more moderate or conservative option in the runoff.

With Pratt out, the race is expected to become a more direct debate over Los Angeles’ future: whether voters want Bass to continue her approach to homelessness, policing and city services, or whether Raman can turn frustration over affordability and slow-moving change into a winning campaign.

Original source: CalMatters

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