Los Angeles Councilwoman Nithya Raman overtook reality TV star Spencer Pratt on Sunday evening for second place in the city’s open primary mayoral race, catapulting her to a position to face incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the November runoff.But in an election that has received so much media attention, not much buzz has been focused on Raman. While Pratt has garnered millions of views online for his AI campaign videos and Bass has been pinned to defend her record in the media against her challengers, Raman has comparatively flown under the legacy media radar as she largely sticks to her left-wing policy points.
Here is what to know about Raman as she is likely to advance to take on Bass in the November general election.
Who is Nithya Raman?
A mother of two and a career urban planner, Raman got her start in public policy by advocating to provide more resources and assistance for homeless people across LA. In 2017, she founded the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition, which says it is a “community-led response” to homelessness in LA, helping the city’s “most vulnerable neighbors.” She also took part as a leader of the Hollywood #MeToo movement’s group Time’s Up.
The Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumna, who first won an LA City Council seat in 2020, also calls herself someone “a complete outsider,” with “no political machine, no insider backing.” The momentum from her grassroots campaign in her first City Council race helped her oust incumbent Councilman David Ryu in the 4th District, defeating him with 52.9% of the vote, compared to Ryu’s 47.1%. She won again in 2024, taking the majority vote in the primary by 12.1 percentage points. LA’s homelessness policy had been a major sticking point in her City Council elections.
