Los Angeles Mayor winner?
$82.6M
JUN 14, 2026
General Election
Voters choose the office holder.
Overview
Current roleCouncil Member
PartyDemocratic
Political ideologyDemocratic Socialist
Age44 years old (Jul 28, 1981)
GenderFemale
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LocationCalifornia
BackgroundUrban planner
EducationHarvard University (B.S.)
Notable personal detailsNithya V. Raman is an American urban planner, activist, and politician serving on the Los Angeles City Council representing District 4 (since December 14, 2020). She earned a B.S. from Harvard University and a master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is married to television writer-producer Vali Chandrasekaran and they have twins, Karna and Kaveri.
SourcesShowHide
Positions
Economy & Taxes
Supports taxing high-value real estate transactions (Measure ULA) to fund housing and homelessness programs and has backed increased city budget allocations for homelessness and affordable housing. Has sought targeted exemptions to preserve development while maintaining the overall revenue measure.
Healthcare
Supports expanding public health services and access—particularly by bringing medical, mental health, and behavioral health services to city-funded interim housing and strengthening reimbursement and funding for care for low-income and vulnerable populations. Advocates using Medi-Cal and other public funding to support street medicine and board-and-care facilities and has provided grants and introduced city resolutions to increase services for unhoused and senior residents.
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Immigration & Border
Supports codifying Los Angeles sanctuary protections that prohibit use of city resources, property, personnel, or data for federal immigration enforcement and opposes ICE raids and mass deportations. Advocates legal and municipal protections to keep immigrant communities safe and limit city cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Has sponsored and introduced ordinance-level legislation to enshrine those sanctuary policies into city law.
Abortion & Reproductive Rights
Supports codifying the right to abortion into law, opposes bans that restrict access, and has advanced local measures to make Los Angeles a safe-haven for people seeking abortion care. Has proposed city ordinances to prevent use of city resources to assist out-of-state investigations and sought funding to subsidize care for out-of-state patients.
Climate & Energy
Supports aggressive decarbonization policies for Los Angeles including zero-carbon requirements for new buildings, rapid transition to zero-emission vehicles, and targets to phase out fossil-fuel use in ports and city fleets with a goal of 100% clean/zero-emission energy. Has sponsored and secured passage of local motions and ordinances to advance building electrification and citywide decarbonization. Endorsed by local environmental organizations for her climate agenda.
Public Safety & Guns
Supports reimagining public safety by shifting responsibility for nonviolent calls to unarmed civilian responders, building alternative crisis response teams, and reducing routine armed policing so officers can focus on violent crime. Has voted against a large LAPD contract citing fiscal limits on building alternative responses and introduced motions to develop a multi-year plan to expand unarmed response models and traffic enforcement alternatives.
News
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman has entered the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral race shortly before the filing deadline, setting up a challenge to Mayor Karen Bass. Governor Gavin Newsom publicly backed Bass for reelection, positioning Raman as the main alternative in a race being discussed around housing and homelessness. Separately, Rick Caruso said he will not run in 2026, leaving the field to candidates including Raman.
New updates coming soon
We're monitoring and will update when new data impacts the race.
- Polls
- Endorsements
- Fundraising