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Kerala-born Nithya Raman beats Trump-backed rival to enter Los Angeles mayor run-off
If Raman wins the run-off election, she will be the second Indian-American to run two of the largest US cities, joining Zohran Mamdani, who won the New York mayor’s post last year
- PUBLISHED: Tue 9 Jun 2026, 3:10 PM UPDATED: Tue 9 Jun 2026, 4:13 PM
Kerala-born Indian-American Nithya Raman on Monday emerged as the top contender in the race to become the next mayor of Los Angeles, winning a place in the November run-off election for the job, beating a Republican rival to challenge the incumbent Karen Bass. After endorsing Bass for re-election, Raman made an abrupt entry into the race.
If she wins the run-off election, she will be the second Indian-American to run two of the largest American cities, joining Zohran Mamdani, who won the New York mayor’s post last November.
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Raman, 44, is a Kerala-born Tamilian, who moved to the US with her family when she was just six and grew up in Louisiana. She studied at two prestigious US universities, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and won her LA city council seat in 2020. She was re-elected in 2024. Raman was the first Asian-American woman and the first South Asian person elected to the LA city council.
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But before she entered US politics, Raman ran a non-profit in Chennai in India, which aimed to improve access to sanitation and getting political rights for underserved communities. In Los Angeles, she has strong backing from lower-income voters and focuses on housing, lower rents and tackling homelessness.
Married to Vali Chandrasekaran, an Indian-origin TV producer and screenwriter, Raman is a mother to 10-year-old twins. “To the thousands of supporters who knocked doors, made calls, sent texts, donated, and opened their homes for events across the city, and to everyone else who made this moment possible: thank you, from the bottom of my heart,” she posted on ‘X’ noting that she was incredibly honoured that voters had enabled her to move to the election for the LA mayor’s post.
Progressive, pro-Palestine politician
Described as a progressive, left-wing, pro-Palestine politician, Raman is also one of the four members of the LA city council associated with the Democratic Socialists of America.
She he has been compared to New York city mayor Zohram Mamdani, because of her ideology, age and immigrant background. "What we are doing right now is just not working," Raman told the media, noting: "LA's primary strategy for homelessness has been to move encampments from one block to another, from your block to your neighbour's block and back again. It's political theatre."
Raman wants to reduce the number of people sleeping in encampments in LA by half before the 2028 Olympics.
But Raman edging out Spencer Pratt, the reality-TV celebrity and Trump-backed Republican, for the second place along with Democrat Bass, has seen her attract US President Donald Trump’s wrath.
Trump has described Raman’s emergence as a Democratic scam. He has alleged election fraud in California and has vowed to launch a federal investigation now. Elon Musk also shared a post questioning how Raman could go ahead of Pratt.
