Nithya Raman wins Democratic Socialists’ endorsement in bid to unseat LA Mayor Karen Bass

Nithya Raman just picked up an endorsement from the city’s Democratic Socialists of America — a group that wants to defund the police and abolish ICE.

DSA-LA announced Wednesday that it was backing Raman after more than 1,400 members participated in an online endorsement vote.

The final tally was 937 votes in favor of endorsing Raman, 484 against and 52 abstentions, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“I think this is a negative for Nithya. The DSA is helpful in a Democratic primary, not a general election,” Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo told The Post.

He noted that the endorsement was likely to trigger an allergic reaction from anyone who isn’t on board with the DSA.

The endorsement comes at a critical moment for Raman, who finished second in June’s mayoral primary with roughly 28.5% of the vote, narrowly edging reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who finished third with about 25.8% after leading much of the early count.

Bass finished first with roughly 34% to 35% of the vote, setting up a November showdown between the incumbent mayor and Raman.

“Bass has an opportunity to use DSA’s endorsement to make November a choice between progressive Democrat values and radical socialist ideology. DSA’s endorsement of Raman helps that cause significantly,” strategist Matt Klink told The Post.

Bass’ campaign quickly seized on the endorsement.

“Nithya Raman said kids aren’t safer if an encampment is 500 feet away from a school and voted repeatedly to cut basic public safety funding to make LA safer. Those are positions she now fully owns as she tries to flip-flop and convince voters otherwise,” Alex Stack, a Bass campaign spokesperson, told The Post.

Raman’s campaign did not return a request for comment. She thanked the DSA for “joining our broad coalition of Angelenos,” and put a DSA logo on her website in the “endorsements” section. 

The Post also asked Raman’s campaign whether she has changed, amended or otherwise departed from any of DSA-LA’s positions on issues including expropriating privately owned housing, abolishing tenant background checks, eliminating qualified immunity for police, funding networks to obstruct ICE raids and creating a publicly owned Los Angeles bank.

“Raman needs the election to be a referendum on Karen Bass,” Klink said. “That’s still possible, but DSA’s endorsement clearly comes with strings attached as well as policy expectations if she were to win the mayor’s race in November.”

Raman has been a DSA member since before her successful 2020 City Council campaign, when she became the first person elected to the council with the group’s support.

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But her views — particularly on policing — have evolved considerably since then.

In 2020, Raman campaigned on “Defund the police.” Earlier this year, however, she said Los Angeles should not lose more officers and argued that the department was already too small to respond to 911 calls in a timely manner.

DSA is now expected to provide Raman with campaign resources and volunteers as she heads into the runoff.

The endorsement also comes as DSA and its allies have enjoyed a string of victories nationwide, including major mayoral wins in New York City, Washington, DC, and Seattle, as well as more than 35 primary victories in state and congressional races.

But the endorsement could also give Bass an opening to portray Raman as too far to the left for a citywide electorate.

November’s race will likely come down to whether Raman can broaden the coalition of progressive voters that propelled her into the runoff.