A campaign that began in a backyard
According to the Los Angeles Times, Nithya Raman's run for mayor started with a whiteboard in the backyard accessory dwelling unit at her Silver Lake home. She entered the race right at the Feb. 7 filing deadline. Her campaign had no office, bank account, treasurer or proper website, said campaign manager Ian Manheimer, who joined after a 10 p.m. call from Raman the night before the deadline.
Manheimer said anyone who suspected Raman had long planned a mayoral bid could visit the ADU and drop that idea. Her parents and her husband's parents took turns cooking vegetarian Indian lunches for the small staff, the Times reported.
The campaign grew into what the paper described as a disciplined operation that unseated Bass, a veteran politician backed by most of the city's traditional power brokers.
A lonely primary
For much of the primary, Raman had few endorsements and almost none from elected officials, the Times reported. The Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America did not back her for the June 2 primary, citing her late entry and past disagreements, even though it had endorsed her in both council campaigns. Millions of dollars were spent opposing her, while she received almost no supportive outside spending.
Her strategy centered on the tenant-rights profile she built on the council and on turning out the city's renters. A March poll found 51% of likely voters did not know enough about her to have an opinion.
She was also overshadowed by Spencer Pratt, a Republican and former reality television personality whose social media attacks on L.A.'s liberal establishment dominated coverage. Her team first expected Pratt and entrepreneur Adam Miller to split the conservative vote. As the primary went on, it became clear Pratt could take the runoff spot instead.
To counter him, the campaign cast Pratt as the MAGA Republican in a nonpartisan race. Raman used the line at the NBC4 debate on May 6, saying, "This is a MAGA Republican's idea of what Los Angeles looks like." Her debate performance was widely panned and Pratt's was praised, but her team believed the message landed. Raman finished the primary with 29%, ahead of Pratt's 26%. Bass led with 34%.
Endorsements and money arrive for the runoff
The runoff gave the campaign a chance to reset, with fundraising restarting and more time to build name recognition. In August, the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters endorsed Raman and sponsored an independent expenditure group called Estamos con Nithya for Mayor 2026. Unite Here Local 11, which represents hospitality workers at airports and hotels, followed. City Controller Kenneth Mejia and county Supervisor Lindsey Horvath also endorsed her.
Communications director Tessa Wick said Mejia would call daily to ask which myths he could bust. She said that once the campaign saw how many groups and people stood behind it, each press conference added "more force into this movement we were building."
Aaron Sosnick, a hedge fund manager and bike lane advocate, put $8 million into two independent expenditure groups backing Raman, making him the largest spender in the mayoral campaign, according to the Times. Michael Schneider, who runs Streets for All, which ran one of the groups, said of Sosnick, "He is a cyclist. He just wants to not die riding the streets in L.A."
A difficult summer for the incumbent
Raman's campaign also benefited from a hard summer for Bass, the Times reported. The mayor saw turnover on her campaign and administration teams. Unsheltered homelessness rose citywide, though it fell sharply in Raman's council district. A large fire at a cold-storage food warehouse in Boyle Heights sent noxious fumes into the heavily Latino, working-class neighborhood.
Lauren Perez-Rangel, the campaign's senior director of Latino outreach, said many Latinos saw themselves in the Boyle Heights residents. Bass had won more Latino neighborhoods than any other primary candidate, and Perez-Rangel said the campaign worked to change that in the runoff. Raman brushed up on her Spanish and used it frequently at events.
Headlines from other outlets point to the challenges ahead. The Associated Press described Raman as taking charge amid a homelessness crisis and political division. LAist reported that none of her council colleagues backed her mayoral bid.
