Karen Bass is headed for a run-off to remain mayor of Los Angeles, but emerging questions remain about California's biggest city, is who will she face off against by November?
With ballots still being counted on Tuesday night, CBS News projected Bass had secured a place in November's final round.
Early returns suggested a tightening battle between City Council member Nithya Raman and Republican outsider Spencer Pratt, whose campaign began as a longshot protest against the city's handling of the Palisades Fire and often mocked Bass online with AI-generated images.
With roughly 63% of votes counted by early Wednesday, Bass held 35% support. Pratt followed on 30%, while Raman trailed on 22%.
Under California's primary system, the top two candidates advance regardless of party. A candidate can only avoid a run-off by winning more than half the vote outright, and Bass fell well short of that mark.
Fire Fallout Still Haunts City Hall
January's wildfire disaster still hangs over this election, and the Palisades Fire became one of the most destructive blazes in California history, killing 12 people and destroying thousands of homes across affluent coastal communities.
Bass faced sustained criticism over the city's emergency response, including accusations that officials were unprepared as fires spread rapidly through parts of Southern California.
That political opening created space for Pratt to run as LA Mayor. Best known for his role on MTV reality series The Hills, the 42-year-old Republican has channelled public anger into a blunt anti-establishment campaign. His own home was destroyed in the wildfire, a fact he has repeatedly foregrounded while attacking Bass's leadership.
Pratt has portrayed Los Angeles as increasingly unsafe, dirty and dysfunctional. His platform includes mandatory drug treatment programmes aimed at tackling homelessness, one of the city's most politically volatile issues. Pratt has positioned himself as someone visibly furious at a system many residents believe has stopped functioning properly.
He has never held elected office, despite holding a political science degree, and until recently was better known for reality television feuds than public policy.
During his years on The Hills, Pratt cultivated an abrasive on-screen image built around gossip, confrontation and manufactured drama. That notoriety, once politically toxic, now seems to function as free campaign recognition in an increasingly fragmented media environment.
Raman Struggles To Break Through
Nithya Raman entered the race late and initially appeared capable of consolidating progressive support behind a more policy-driven campaign. Instead, her campaign has struggled to gain momentum.
The 44-year-old city councilor and urban planner has campaigned heavily on affordable housing, reducing homelessness and reviving Hollywood's shrinking job market. She has argued Bass failed to move aggressively enough on housing supply and social support systems.
Yet Raman's candidacy never fully unified the city's Democratic left. Notably, none of her fellow city council members endorsed her mayoral bid.
Her politics have drawn comparisons to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani because of her ties to the Democratic Socialists of America. In Los Angeles this year, public anger over safety, housing costs and disaster management appears to have reshaped the conversation.
Bass, meanwhile, continues to rely on her long political résumé and institutional support.
Before becoming mayor in 2022, she served six terms in Congress representing parts of Los Angeles and chaired the Congressional Black Caucus. In 2020, she was briefly considered a possible running mate for Joe Biden during the presidential election.
If re-elected in November, Bass would serve a second and final term.
California's Political Unease Extends Beyond Los Angeles
Votes are still being counted in the state's governor primary, where no clear front-runner has emerged despite record campaign spending.
The leading candidates include former Biden administration health secretary Xavier Becerra, billionaire activist Tom Steyer and Steve Hilton, the British-American television host and former adviser to David Cameron.
Hilton has campaigned as an anti-establishment conservative willing to cooperate more closely with Donald Trump's administration on immigration enforcement and homelessness policy. Becerra has leaned heavily on his experience in federal government while presenting himself as a defender of California's liberal political identity.
