After a campaign that got more personal at times than a Bravo reality series, no one Tuesday night has been elected Mayor of Los Angeles.
In a Democrat vs. Democrat race that saw old allies Councilmember Nithya Raman and incumbent Karen Bass face off for many of the same constituents, tonight’s results so far reflected the dead heat the candidates had been in for the past two weeks.
As of 10:48 p.m. PT, with nearly 500,000 votes counted, the L.A. County Register-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office had Bass with 50.7% of the tallied votes, and Raman 49.3%.
The 10,000-vote margin is so close that it will likely be a few days at least before a final count is recorded. Also, with half of the expected vote now accounted for, the initial votes cited Tuesday night are the mail-in ballots, so Raman could see a surge once the day-of votes start coming in as her core base of younger Angelenos tend to go to the polls on Election Day.
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On Tuesday night, as Democrats across the state and the nation were swept into power on a so-called blue tsunami, KTLA anchors called the bid for the City of Angels’ top job “a wild ride.” Certainly from two-term District 4 representative Raman jumping into the mayoral fray at the last minute, and the incendiary primary campaign of The Hills alum / ex-Palisades resident / Donald Trump fan Spencer Pratt, this year’s mayor’s race has been remarkable. Add to that, the whims of mall builder and 2022 candidate Rick Caruso, Hollywood mergers and the decline of film and TV production and the endorsements of the Democratic elite, and the whole thing has been crazed — even by L.A. political standards.
Declaring herself “confident” of victory when all is said and counted, Bass had a watching event in Hollywood on Tuesday. Raman gathered with supporters at the Greek Theatre in Griffith Park as they awaited results. From a big Bass lead around the June primary to a double-digit lead by Raman a month ago, both candidates were fighting for Pratt voters to gain the electoral edge.
Tonight, Pratt mocked Bass and Raman for being “neck and neck” with an extra swipe at the incumbent for finding herself in such a tight position. “Man, now we won’t have a clear winner for like 3 weeks LOL”
Both Bass and Raman, the latter of whom is married to a TV writer-producer, have promised to improve conditions to make it easier and more affordable to film in L.A.. For all her history around the state’s film and TV tax incentives, the incumbent has been criticized for only truly turning the power of her office to stemming the sharp decline in production and industry jobs in the City of Angels as her reelection loomed. Raman has been accused of missing vital City Council votes on the issue.
This summer, as the antitrust lawsuit from state Attorney General’s office against Paramount’s $111 billion purchase of Warner Bros Discovery picked up steam, Bass joined Gov. Gavin Newsom and exhibitors in pushing AG Rob Bonta to strike a deal with David Ellison as the CEO was whispered to be threatening to leave California. The WGA-endorsed Raman was always opposed to the ParaBros deal, but once Ellison achieved his corporate dream with the sign-off by a federal judge, Raman used a Hollywood confab on October 1 to publicly offer a hand to the Oracle scion to work together.
Along with Pratt, both Bass and Raman back a bipartisan federal film and TV tax credit. With the Democrats’ big wins tonight, whether passing that program is a top priority or not remains to be seen.
