Bass advances in Los Angeles mayoral race, final spot still unsettled

Karen Bass was projected to advance in the Los Angeles mayoral race, but the battle for the final spot was still unresolved, a split result that offers an early read on how Angelenos are weighing homelessness, crime and City Hall’s competence. Under California’s top-two system, the two vote-getters in the June 2, 2026 primary move on to the November 3 general election.

The scramble for second place underscored how narrow the contest had become. Councilmember Nithya Raman and political newcomer Spencer Pratt were competing for the remaining runoff berth in a race that drew more than a dozen candidates. A recent UC Berkeley-Los Angeles Times poll had Bass at 26%, Raman at 25% and Pratt at 22%, a margin tight enough to leave the outcome unsettled heading into the final count. AP had described Bass as facing a tight race for a second term.

The campaign centered on the issues that have defined Bass’s time in office and shaped voter sentiment across Los Angeles. Homelessness and crime sat at the center of the debate, along with criticism of Bass’s response to the devastating Palisades Fire in January 2025. Former Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed Bass for reelection in May, citing those same concerns and signaling that Bass still had powerful Democratic backing even as challengers argued that voters wanted a different direction.

Bass entered the race as an incumbent seeking a second term after first winning City Hall in 2022, when she defeated Rick Caruso in a runoff and became the first woman elected mayor of Los Angeles. That earlier race also went to a second round after no candidate won a majority, and the 2026 contest again pushed the city toward a runoff-style November showdown.

If Bass’s advance is finalized, the general election will set up another high-stakes citywide test in Los Angeles, where mayoral politics have drawn unusual national attention, heavy spending and intense scrutiny. The unresolved final slot suggests that Bass’s support may reflect real approval among some voters, but also a fractured opposition and a public still torn between demand for change and a desire for continuity.