US midterms 2026: Indian-born Nithya Raman challenges LA mayor Karen Bass

Nithya Raman, an urban planner and Los Angeles City Council member born in India, is challenging incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the November 3, 2026, election, promising to tackle the city's housing crisis, homelessness and deteriorating public services. Although the contest is taking place alongside the US midterms, it is a municipal election, not a congressional race.Raman moved to the United States with her family at the age of six. She graduated from Harvard University and earned a master's degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before entering electoral politics, she worked on homelessness initiatives and co-founded the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition in Los Angeles.In 2020, Raman defeated incumbent David Ryu to win a seat on the Los Angeles City Council, becoming the first South Asian person elected to the council. She won re-election in 2024 and has focused on housing affordability, tenant protections, homelessness and climate policy. She also served as executive director of Time's Up Entertainment, an organisation addressing sexual harassment in Hollywood.Raman entered the mayoral race in February 2026, despite having previously endorsed Bass. She finished second in the June 2 primary, securing a place in the November runoff against the incumbent. Her campaign proposes increasing housing construction, strengthening renter protections, improving basic city services and expanding unarmed emergency-response services. She has also pledged to protect immigrants and streamline permits to support small businesses.Her campaign faces scrutiny over her changing positions on policing, homelessness programmes and the city's mansion tax. Bass and her supporters have questioned Raman's experience and approach to public safety, while Raman argues that Los Angeles needs a change in leadership and more accountable government.The contest will test whether Raman can turn her progressive support and record on housing into a citywide winning coalition against an incumbent backed by prominent Democrats and much of the City Council.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.