2026 Los Angeles mayoral election

The 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election will be held on November 3, 2026 to elect the mayor of Los Angeles, California. A nonpartisan top-two primary was held on June 2, 2026. Incumbent mayor Karen Bass announced her re-election bid in July 2024. In the June 8 primary, Bass and city councilmember Nithya Raman advanced to the general election.

Source: Wikipedia

Article

2026 Los Angeles mayoral election

Candidates

Advanced to runoff

• Karen Bass, incumbent mayor (2022–present) • Nithya Raman, city councilmember from the 4th district (2020–present) and assistant council president pro tempore (2025–2026) (previously endorsed Bass)

Eliminated in primary

• Bryant Acosta, chief creative officer • Asaad Alnajjar, Porter Ranch neighborhood councilor and candidate for Los Angeles's 12th City Council district in (/wiki/2020LosAngeleselections#District12) • Nelson Cheng, streamer and behavioral interventionist • Rae Huang, community organizer • Tish Hyman, singer-songwriter • Andrew Kim, attorney and candidate for mayor in (/wiki/2022LosAngelesmayoralelection) • Suzy Kim, mental health professional • John Logsdon, Westchester/Playa neighborhood councilor • Juanita Lopez, political scientist • Adam Miller, former tech executive • Spencer Pratt, reality television personality • Andrej Selivra, enterprise technical architect

Disqualified

• Adam Carmichael, software systems architect • Alyxandria-Jamil Carter, artist • Griselda Diaz, administrative manager • Cassandra Faye Floyd, minister • Joseph Garcia, gardener and advocate • Laura Garza, rail worker and perennial candidate • Robert Goodman, entrepreneur and financial advisor • Keeldar Shawn Hamilton, transportation coordinator • Nick Harron, writer • Stevie Maceo Milan, sales representative • Misael Ortega, painting contractor • Vincent Wali, musician and nurse

Withdrawn

• Austin Beutner, former superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District and 1st Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles • Jeanne Moller Fontana, mental health activist • Franziska Von Fischer, real estate investor

Declined

• Rick Caruso, founder of Caruso and runner-up for mayor in (/wiki/2022LosAngelesmayoralelection) • Lindsey Horvath, Los Angeles County supervisor (2022–present) (ran for re-election) • Kenneth Mejia, Los Angeles City controller (2022–present) (ran for re-election) • Traci Park, city councilmember from the 11th district (2022–present) (ran for re-election) • Monica Rodriguez, city councilmember from the 7th district (2017–present) (ran for re-election) • Maryam Zar, founder of the Palisades Recovery Coalition

Primary

2026 Los Angeles mayoral election

Most attention in the non-partisan primary was focused on Bass, the incumbent Democratic mayor; Pratt, a Republican reality television personality; and Raman, a Democratic city councilmember. Pratt had come to renewed prominence by channeling popular resentment against city government for its handling of the Palisades Fire, in which he had lost his home the previous year; he became a focal point of Republican support. Raman, a Democratic Socialists of America member, entered the race only hours before the filing deadline in order to provide an alternate challenger to Pratt; she positioned herself as more progressive than Bass, focusing on the city's housing crisis and other policy areas where she charged that Bass's establishment politics had failed.

Debates

<table><thead><tr><th>Date</th><th>Host</th><th>Moderators</th><th>Location</th><th>Link</th><th>Nonpartisan</th><th>Nonpartisan</th><th>Nonpartisan</th></tr><tr><th colspan="5" rowspan="2">Key: P Participant I Invited W Withdrawn A Absent N Not invited </th><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><th>Karen Bass</th><th>Spencer Pratt</th><th>Nithya Raman</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>May 5, 2026</td><td>Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association</td><td>Phil Sherman</td><td>Sherman Oaks East Valley Adult Center</td><td>YouTube</td><td>P</td><td>N</td><td>P</td></tr><tr><td>May 6, 2026</td><td>NBC4 Telemundo 52</td><td>Enrique Chiabra Conan Nolan Colleen Williams</td><td>Skirball Cultural Center</td><td>YouTube</td><td>P</td><td>P</td><td>P</td></tr></tbody></table>

Canceled debate

A third debate was scheduled to occur on May 13, hosted by the League of Women Voters, with five candidates invited. Bass withdrew from the debate a week before, after originally committing to attending. Pratt was also invited to the debate, but declined due to a scheduling conflict. On May 11, Raman withdrew from the debate, leading to its cancellation later that day.

<table><thead><tr><th>Planned date</th><th>Host</th><th>Nonpartisan</th><th>Nonpartisan</th><th>Nonpartisan</th><th>Nonpartisan</th><th>Nonpartisan</th></tr><tr><th colspan="2" rowspan="2">Key: P Participant I Invited W Withdrawn A Absent N Not invited </th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th><th></th></tr><tr><th>Karen Bass</th><th>Rae Huang</th><th>Adam Miller</th><th>Spencer Pratt</th><th>Nithya Raman</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>May 13, 2026</td><td>League of Women Voters Pat Brown Institute</td><td>W</td><td>I</td><td>I</td><td>I</td><td>W</td></tr></tbody></table>

Fundraising

<table><thead><tr><th colspan="5">Campaign finance reports as of May 27, 2026</th></tr><tr><th>Candidate</th><th>Raised</th><th>Spent</th><th>Cash on hand</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Karen Bass</td><td>$3,214,043</td><td>$4,114,009</td><td>$278,668</td></tr><tr><td>Rae Huang</td><td>$315,364</td><td>$326,291</td><td>$8,554</td></tr><tr><td>Adam Miller</td><td>$4,283,106</td><td>$3,996,593</td><td>$459,736</td></tr><tr><td>Spencer Pratt</td><td>$3,744,718</td><td>$3,251,963</td><td>$814,291</td></tr><tr><td>Nithya Raman</td><td>$980,930</td><td>$2,090,548</td><td>$294,891</td></tr><tr><th colspan="5">Source:</th></tr></tbody></table>

Polling

<table><thead><tr><th>Poll source</th><th>Date(s) administered</th><th>Sample size</th><th>Margin of error</th><th>Karen Bass</th><th>Spencer Pratt</th><th>Nithya Raman</th><th>Adam Miller</th><th>Rae Huang</th><th>Other</th><th>Undecided</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>UC Berkeley/Los Angeles Times</td><td>May 19–24, 2026</td><td>1,351 (LV)</td><td>± 3%</td><td>26%</td><td>22%</td><td>25%</td><td>5%</td><td>9%</td><td>–</td><td>10%</td></tr><tr><td>Cygnal (R)</td><td>May 15–18, 2026</td><td>500 (LV)</td><td>± 4.38%</td><td>25%</td><td>22%</td><td>18%</td><td>5%</td><td>5%</td><td>–</td><td>25%</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2">Emerson College/Inside California Politics</td><td rowspan="2">May 9–10, 2026</td><td rowspan="2">1,000 (LV)</td><td rowspan="2">± 3.0%</td><td>35.0%</td><td>22.9%</td><td>23.3%</td><td>11.7%</td><td>4.5%</td><td>2.7%</td><td>–</td></tr><tr><td>30.2%</td><td>22.3%</td><td>19.4%</td><td>7.3%</td><td>4.3%</td><td>0.1%</td><td>16.3%</td></tr><tr><td>UCLA</td><td>March 15–29, 2026</td><td>813 (LV)</td><td>4%</td><td>25%</td><td>11%</td><td>9%</td><td>3%</td><td>3%</td><td>9%</td><td>40%</td></tr><tr><td>UC Berkeley/Los Angeles Times</td><td>March 9–15, 2026</td><td>840 (LV)</td><td>–</td><td>25%</td><td>14%</td><td>17%</td><td>6%</td><td>8%</td><td>4%</td><td>26%</td></tr><tr><td>Emerson College/Inside California Politics</td><td>March 7–9, 2026</td><td>1,000 (RV)</td><td>± 5.2%</td><td>19.5%</td><td>10.2%</td><td>9.3%</td><td>4.2%</td><td>2.9%</td><td>3.0%</td><td>50.9%</td></tr></tbody></table>

Results

At the end of election night, Bass led with a plurality of votes, followed by Pratt with Raman in third, with only a fraction of ballots tabulated. Over the next week, the additional tabulation of ballots narrowed the gap between Raman and Pratt, and the former eventually overtook the latter in vote totals. With 93% of the vote tabulated on 8 June, election observers concluded that Bass and Raman advanced to a runoff election, with Pratt and all other candidates eliminated.

California's practice of incrementally counting ballots and broadcasting updates in daily batches triggered election conspiracists, including President Donald Trump. In one batch update, a 41-second delay in the electronic broadcast of Pratt's vote totals relative to Bass's and Raman's led to claims of election fraud. The LA County registrar's office confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that Pratt had received additional votes in every batch of updates during the count, a fact with which the Trump-appointed US attorney Bill Essayli concurred. The Sunday after the election, Pratt suggested that 43000 homeless people had inappropriately cast ballots for Raman. On the same day, Trump shut down an interview with Kristen Welker when she asked him to substantiate his claims of election fraud. Federal House Speaker Mike Johnson also made insinuations of electoral fraud that he was unwilling to substantiate, saying that fraud was "impossible to prove" but could be detected "instinctively".

As of June 9, 2026, Pratt had yet to concede the race or fulfill his vow to leave Los Angeles if not elected. On June 11, Pratt asked online, "Are they done counting yet?"; the Associated Press estimated that by that point, 99% of the ballots had been counted and Pratt had received 25.5% of the votes compared to Raman's 29%. On his syndicated television program, Los Angeles comedian Jimmy Kimmel announced that he had rented a moving truck on behalf of Pratt. On June 12, Pratt released a video announcing that he was no longer encumbered by a campaign, and that "Angelenos are now stuck with two morons responsible for all their problems and now have to choose between dumb and dumber", apparently referring to Bass and Raman; independent observers interpreted the video as a concession. Pratt also indicated he would not fulfill his vow to leave Los Angeles.

Primary results by precinct: Bass Raman Pratt

<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Candidate</th><th>Votes</th><th>%</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th colspan="2">Karen Bass (incumbent)</th><td>292,593</td><td>34.3</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Nithya Raman</th><td>247,781</td><td>29.0</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Spencer Pratt</th><td>217,977</td><td>25.5</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Adam Miller</th><td>30,008</td><td>3.5</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Rae Chen Huang</th><td>25,220</td><td>3.0</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Juanita Lopez</th><td>13,032</td><td>1.5</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Andrew Kim</th><td>6,988</td><td>0.8</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Suzy Kim</th><td>6,051</td><td>0.7</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Assad Alnajjar</th><td>4,063</td><td>0.5</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Bryant Acosta</th><td>3,470</td><td>0.4</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">John Logsdon</th><td>3,029</td><td>0.4</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Tish Hyman</th><td>1,640</td><td>0.2</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Andrej Selivra</th><td>1,159</td><td>0.1</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Nelson Cheng</th><td>881</td><td>0.1</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Total votes</th><td>853,892</td><td>100.0</td></tr></tbody></table>

Runoff

2026 Los Angeles mayoral election

The elimination of Pratt and other candidates set up a runoff election in which Raman will challenge the incumbent Bass from the left. While both candidates are Democrats, Raman is also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, with the Los Angeles chapter endorsing her on September 2, 2026.

Polling

<table><thead><tr><th>Poll source</th><th>Date(s) administered</th><th>Sample size</th><th>Margin of error</th><th>Karen Bass</th><th>Nithya Raman</th><th>Neither</th><th>Undecided</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Hart Research Associates (D)</td><td>September</td><td>600 (LV)</td><td>± 4.0%</td><td>39%</td><td>44%</td><td>—</td><td>17%</td></tr><tr><td>Impact Research (D)</td><td>August 28 – September 3, 2026</td><td>700 (LV)</td><td>± 3.7%</td><td>38%</td><td>37%</td><td>—</td><td>26%</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>June 2, 2026</td><td colspan="16">Bass and Raman advance to runoff</td></tr><tr><td>UC Berkeley/Los Angeles Times</td><td>May 19–24, 2026</td><td>1,913 (RV)</td><td>± 3%</td><td>28%</td><td>32%</td><td>25%</td><td>15%</td></tr></tbody></table>

False polling from Median Strategies

Median Strategies was a company which initially described itself as a pollster, and later as a "short term social experiment". In August 2026, it released the purported results of a public opinion poll for the Los Angeles mayoral runoff election, before retracting its release days later, stating that "[a]ll previously published polling releases have been withdrawn and should not be cited or treated as genuine polling data". The false polling data stated that Karen Bass led Nithya Raman by 12 percentage points.

The company acknowledged to reporters that the data were false, and following its admission, declared on August 17, 2026, that it was shutting down. In a written statement, the company said "Median Strategies was created as a short term social experiment to examine how purported polling information could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification", but contemporaneous reporting did not indicate whether this sequence of events was the company's plan all along, or whether any survey research had ever been conducted by the company.

Median Strategies released a statement on its website claiming "no individual involved held or traded any position in an election prediction market, betting market, or other financial instrument tied to the races covered by Median Strategies". The Associated Press evaluated the effect of the company's statements on betting markets and found that prediction markets saw small changes in price and significant numbers of trades in the 15 minutes immediately following the release of false polling data for the mayoral runoff election.

Results

<table><thead><tr><th colspan="2">Candidate</th><th>Votes</th><th>%</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th colspan="2">Karen Bass (incumbent)</th><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Nithya Raman</th><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Total votes</th><td></td><td>100.0</td></tr></tbody></table>