There are actually simply two months till the Los Angeles mayoral election slated for June 2. The candidates are in full campaign-mode as they try to sway voters in what seems to be a crowded discipline of 14 contenders, together with incumbent Karen Bass, who’s searching for to maintain her job.
Angelenos will resolve on June 2 who they need within the metropolis’s high job, with Los Angeles dealing with a few of its largest years forward, together with two main occasions — the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Video games — which can draw tens of millions of holiday makers and current quite a few challenges.
If no candidate secures a transparent majority (i.e., greater than 50% of the vote), the highest two candidates will head to a runoff on November 5 to resolve town’s subsequent chief.
1 / 4 of voters are nonetheless on the fence — roughy 25% are undecided on which candidate to choose.
Under is an inventory of candidates so as of their standing in polls, together with their marketing campaign messaging and key factors to notice.
Karen Bass
The present mayor got here into her position after defeating actual property mogul and once-hopeful mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, securing practically 55% of the vote in 2022.
Earlier than turning into mayor, Bass was a U.S. Consultant (2011–2022), serving California’s thirty seventh district, chairing the Congressional Black Caucus, and dealing as a California State Meeting member (2005–2010), the place she turned the primary Black lady to function Speaker. She can be the primary lady to steer town.
Bass’ reelection bid is primarily centered on her efforts to make town safer, extra reasonably priced, and to proceed addressing the homelessness disaster by way of her “Inside Protected” initiative.
Her marketing campaign has come below extreme scrutiny.
The incumbent nonetheless leads the pack, albeit with simply 25% of voter help — however roughly 25% of Angelenos are nonetheless undecided, in accordance with a Berkeley Institute of Governmental Research/Los Angeles Occasions ballot. A majority — 56% of probably voters — view the mayor negatively, whereas simply 13% say they don’t have any opinion.
Bass’s declining help is tied, largely, to her dealing with of the lethal 2025 Palisades Hearth that killed 12 individuals and destroyed some 6,800 constructions — together with the house of mayoral contender Pratt. Bass has additionally confronted questions on whether or not her workplace influenced edits to the Los Angeles Hearth Division’s after-action report on the Palisades Hearth to forged officers in a extra favorable gentle.
Nithya Raman
Coming in a detailed second is ultra-left-wing candidate with Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) affiliation, Nithya Raman, who presently serves because the Los Angeles Metropolis Councilmember for the 4th district, a task she has held since 2020. Raman is a member of the Democratic Social gathering and the DSA.
Previous to coming into politics, Raman based and led a homelessness nonprofit in Los Angeles and was the manager director of Time’s Up Leisure. She turned a naturalized American citizen on the age of twenty-two and was born in Kerala, India.
Many critics and supporters alike have described her as L.A.’s Zohran Mamdani, evaluating her to the present political management in New York Metropolis.
Raman’s platform consists of proposed reforms to Los Angeles’ housing and homelessness insurance policies, “a brand new strategy to public security,” and a local weather change plan that she claims will carry Los Angeles to carbon neutrality by 2030.
The identical ballot that discovered Bass main has Raman in a detailed second at 17%. One other controversial ballot carried out by Loyola Marymount College discovered that almost half of Los Angeles voters are open to a democratic socialist main the nation’s second-largest metropolis.
Raman polled at 32.5% help, whereas about 47.7% of voters stated they most well-liked a socialist candidate over different choices, equivalent to a “reasonable, business-oriented Democrat” or a “conservative political outsider.”
If the election had been held as we speak, Bass and Raman would advance to a runoff in November.
Spencer Pratt
American actuality TV star Spencer Pratt has been a uncommon and sudden entrant into the Los Angeles mayoral race, saying his run throughout a rally searching for extra motion and justice for individuals who misplaced their houses within the Palisades Hearth. Pratt and his spouse misplaced their house within the lethal fires.
Pratt has been one in all Bass’s most vocal critics as he makes his bid to interchange her and lead the second-largest metropolis within the nation.
Pratt is greatest often called the “villain” on MTV’s hit sequence The Hills (2007–2010), the place his relationship with Heidi Montag was a central storyline. He has additionally appeared on The Princes of Malibu, I’m a Movie star…Get Me Out of Right here, and the UK’s Movie star Huge Brother.
His marketing campaign stems from the “They Let Us Burn” motion, created after the deadly Jan. 7, 2025, hearth that killed 12 individuals and destroyed his house. He accuses native officers of negligence and is suing town, alleging {that a} key reservoir was empty in the course of the blaze.
He has pledged to eradicate homeless encampments in parks and streets and vowed that “we’re not going to do fentanyl within the streets.” Pratt additionally plans to interchange present political appointees on the hearth and police commissions with veteran specialists.
His critics level to his lack of political expertise to steer a metropolis as giant, populous, and internationally important as Los Angeles.
Candidates polling below 10%
Raeg Huang
It’s an extended shot for Raeg Huang, a 43-year-old group organizer, minister, and dues-paying member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, who’s throwing her hat into the mayoral race.
She is the opposite DSA-affiliated candidate within the race, and thus far, the DSA has not endorsed anybody else.
The comparatively unknown candidate serves as deputy director of Housing NOW! California, a coalition combating tenant displacement on the state and native ranges. Huang has constructed her marketing campaign on progressive housing insurance policies, tenant protections, and community-focused reforms, positioning herself as a daring various in a crowded discipline dominated by higher-profile contenders.
Adam Miller
Coming simply two share factors behind the leaders is Adam Miller, a tech entrepreneur and CEO of the nonprofit Higher Angels. A Los Angeles resident for 35 years, Miller based Cornerstone OnDemand from his condominium whereas in debt, ultimately rising it right into a 3,000-employee multinational firm.
Positioning himself as an outsider with a document of fixing complicated issues in each the non-public and social sectors, he has confronted criticism from Mayor Karen Bass’s workplace, which has dismissed him as a “rich enterprise capitalist.”
Andrew Kim
Civil rights legal professional Andrew Okay. Kim, born in South Korea, got here to the U.S. at 14 below a particular immigrant visa for working with American troops. A longtime Los Angeles resident, Kim opened his personal solo regulation agency, the Regulation Places of work of Andrew Kim, in Mid-Wilshire after passing the California Bar.
He has additionally served as a Los Angeles County Commissioner for the Narcotics and Harmful Medication Fee and as a brief choose for the Los Angeles County Superior Court docket.
Candidates polling below 2%
Asaad Alnajjar
Asaad Alnajjar is a civil and structural engineer with greater than 35 years on the Metropolis of Los Angeles. He presently serves as town’s engineering supervisor and has helped lead the design and development of dozens of sunshine rail and fast bus tasks, whereas additionally overseeing a long time of sidewalk repairs.
His marketing campaign focuses on homelessness, public security, funds accountability, and a technical, engineering-driven strategy to modernizing metropolis operations.
Juanita Lopez
Political scientist Juanita Lopez is operating for mayor with a concentrate on contemporary views and sensible options. Her marketing campaign emphasizes group empowerment, financial transparency, sustainable development, and tackling points equivalent to reinstating the no-littering regulation and reducing the gross sales tax to eight%.
Tish Hyman
Grammy-nominated songwriter and entertainer Tish Hyman is operating for mayor, promising to sort out homelessness, increase security, and revitalize town. Her marketing campaign focuses on decreasing encampments, reviving Hollywood’s economic system, and making Los Angeles the “nightlife capital of America” — safely.
Bryant Acosta
First-generation American, overtly homosexual Latino, and small enterprise proprietor Bryant Acosta is operating for mayor, promising to problem what he calls a corrupt and stagnant institution. His marketing campaign facilities on transparency, accountability, housing stability, and utilizing tradition and know-how to unite communities.
Nelson Cheng
Nelson Cheng is operating for mayor, criticizing Bass for a “weak response” to wildfires and worsening homelessness. His marketing campaign focuses on supporting younger individuals, decreasing site visitors and hire, bettering Metro service, and broader citywide reforms.
John Logsdon
Neighborhood Council board member John Logsdon is operating for mayor, although his marketing campaign web site and social media provide restricted particulars about his platform. He presently serves on the Neighborhood Council of Westchester/Playa.
Andrej A. Selivra
Born in Santa Monica, second-generation Ukrainian American Andrej A. Selivra is a UCLA political science graduate with 15 years in technical mission growth. His marketing campaign focuses on housing, transportation, and group empowerment, together with proposals for public dormitories and addressing rising hire prices.
Suzy Kim
Suzy Kim, a psychological well being skilled, is operating for mayor, although no detailed marketing campaign platform or lively social media presence may very well be discovered.
