Massive swing rocks LA mayor’s race as concerning poll released

Nithya Raman is dominating Karen Bass in the Los Angeles’ mayor’s race, according to a bombshell new poll.

The challenger has surged to an 11-point lead with less than six weeks until the vote, according to the UC Berkeley/LA Times survey.

Far-left Raman is back by 39% of likely voters compared with just 28% for Bass, the poll released Wednesday morning shows.

But a whopping 33% remain undecided, leaving plenty of room for the race to move before the Nov. 3 election.

Bass’ campaign quickly blasted the survey as an “outlier,” saying other recent polls have shown a much tighter contest.

“One outlier poll which got the June primary wrong isn’t reflective of the energy we see when talking to voters every day and what every other poll indicates — this is going to be a close race,” campaign spokesman Alex Stack told the California Post.

The survey of 2,150 likely Los Angeles voters was conducted online from Sept. 15 through Sept. 20 and carries a margin of error of about 3 percentage points, according to the Times.

The numbers mark a reversal from the June primary, when Bass finished first with 34% of the vote and Raman came in second with 29%.

Bass’ campaign pointed to several recent surveys showing much narrower margins.

An August poll commissioned by Neighborhoods for a Better L.A., an independent group supporting Bass, had the mayor ahead 41% to 35%.

A September survey commissioned by Estamos con Nithya, an outside group supporting Raman, initially had Bass at 38% and Raman at 37%, within its 3.7-point margin of error.

Raman’s own internal poll in early September put her ahead 44% to 39%, with 17% undecided.

But the latest poll contains another troubling number for Bass: 63% of likely voters view the mayor unfavorably, compared with just 28% who view her favorably.

A staggering 63% of likely voters now view the mayor unfavorably, compared with just 28% who view her favorably.

Raman remains polarizing but fares considerably better, with 40% viewing her favorably and 39% unfavorably. Another 21% have no opinion of her.

Bass has been battered over her handling of the devastating 2025 Palisades fire. The new poll found 56% of likely voters rated her response as poor or very poor, while just 14% rated it good or excellent.

Raman, meanwhile, has been consolidating support on the political left.

The Democratic Socialists of America’s Los Angeles chapter endorsed Raman earlier this month. Raman is a longtime DSA member, and the organization has made electing a democratic socialist mayor a major goal.

The California Post  reported on Raman’s record of opposing parts of Los Angeles’ anti-camping law and voting against some LAPD spending, issues that are already becoming ammunition in the increasingly nasty runoff.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which is backing Bass, recently launched an ad hammering Raman over her opposition to restrictions on homeless encampments near schools.

One of the biggest wild cards is the army of voters who backed reality TV star Spencer Pratt in June.

Pratt captured 26% of the primary vote, but 63% of his supporters remain undecided between Bass and Raman, according to the new poll.

Among those who have picked a candidate, 22% favor Bass and 16% favor Raman.

The poll also exposed a striking generational split. Raman commands 66% support among likely voters ages 18 to 29, compared with just 4% for Bass. Among voters 30 to 39, Raman leads 64% to 12%.

Bass’ strongest group is voters 65 and older, where she leads Raman 41% to 21%.

The poll lands just as voting is about to begin, with Los Angeles County set to start mailing ballots Oct. 1 ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

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