Former Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Loses Reelection Amid Crumbling Alliances and Policy Backlash
Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass was defeated by Councilmember Nithya Raman after key supporters withdrew their backing, citing disagreements over homelessness policy, budget decisions and the handling of the Palisades fire.
Incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was defeated on Tuesday by Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is set to take office next month. Bass, who highlighted her relationship-building record during the campaign, saw several former allies shift their support to Raman in the weeks leading up to the election.
Campaign strategist Estevan Montemayor, who worked for Bass’s 2022 mayoral bid, said he turned against her over her handling of homelessness, the city budget and the response to the January 2025 Palisades fire. "That’s when I came to realize on a personal level that she was not capable of serving in an executive role," Montemayor told The Times.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who initially introduced Bass at a State of the City address, later endorsed Raman and publicly criticized Bass for not respecting the perspectives of younger residents. "I mean, the truth is, this mayor has made clear she doesn’t respect the voices and perspectives of young people," Horvath said.
Labor and trade groups that had spent millions supporting Bass in 2022 also redirected resources to Raman. The Western States Regional Council of Carpenters funded a committee that spent roughly five times its previous investment in ads against Bass, while Unite Here Local 11 withdrew its endorsement after the city postponed a $30-per-hour minimum-wage increase for hotel and airport workers.
Business leaders expressed frustration with Bass’s budget decisions, including a $1 billion shortfall that led to the elimination of more than 1,500 vacant city jobs and a series of raises for city workers. Stuart Waldman of the Los Angeles County Business Federation noted that proposals often stalled after Bass’s office received them.
The mayor also faced criticism for her response to the Palisades fire, which killed 12 people. Residents accused her of leaving the city during a critical period, and the fire’s aftermath heightened tensions with supervisors who later pulled funding from a joint city-county homelessness agency.
Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez, a Bass supporter, argued that the loss of voter trust, rather than the loss of political friends, was decisive. "Losing the trust of her voters, that was the bigger loss," he said.
Raman, who had previously campaigned with Bass and endorsed her in 2022, launched a surprise mayoral bid, stating the city "can’t seem to manage the basics." Bass described the challenge as unexpected. "I didn’t have any reason to see it coming," she said.
The election outcome reflects a combination of policy disagreements, fiscal concerns and shifting alliances that undermined Bass’s campaign narrative of collaborative leadership.