The Guardian
· collected 2026-10-05 · by Dani Anguiano in Los Angeles
Karen Bass has never lost an election.
asserted
Bass → lose → election
But this fall, she faces the fight of her political life.
asserted
she → face → life
Bass has roughly a month to convince voters that she should be elected to a second term as the mayor of Los Angeles.
asserted
she → have → Angeles
Given Angelenos’ broad dissatisfaction with the direction of the city, approval ratings on par with Donald Trump’s and a wave of anti-establishment sentiment sweeping American politics, she has a formidable challenge in city council member Nithya Raman.
asserted
she → give → Raman
Chances are it’s not where Bass, who came back to run Los Angeles after a long and successful political career in Sacramento and Washington, had imagined she’d be.
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she → ’ → Sacramento
First there was Raman’s surprise entry into the race – hours before the filing deadline – then Bass’s decisive victory in the primary, when she eliminated the candidacy of TV personality Spencer Pratt.
asserted
she → be → Pratt
But with mere weeks to go, several polls have Bass trailing, some narrowly and some with wider margins.
asserted
some → go → margins
Los Angeles is a deeply blue city and the mayor’s race has become a bitter battle between two progressives who have come to represent the clashing wings of the Democratic party.
asserted
who → become → party
Raman has the endorsement of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, and is a longtime member of the chapter.
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Raman → have → chapter
Its large network of volunteers are knocking on doors across the city in the lead-up to the election, seeking to appeal to a multiracial coalition of working-class Angelenos and renters.
asserted
network → knock → Angelenos
Bass too is seeking to shore up her base.
asserted
Bass → seek → base
On a sunny Sunday afternoon in late September, she was in the middle of a marathon day of campaigning across Los Angeles with stops at six churches, a volunteer appreciation event and four more gatherings scheduled for the evening.
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she → schedule → evening
“I’ll be going until about nine,” she said, seated at a picnic table in Ernest E Debs regional park on the city’s east side, after spending an hour greeting supporters.
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she → go → supporters
Her days are packed with campaign events and mayoral duties, she said, including leading the city’s transportation authority.
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she → pack → authority
“I have no idea what being bored is.”
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being → have → idea
It’s a busy election season for both candidates.
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It → ’ → candidates
They both spoke at forums hosted by the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Jewish Federation Los Angeles in September.
asserted
They → speak → September
The pair are tied in fundraising, with each campaign raising about $2.5m.
Nithya Raman’s campaign did not respond to a request for an interview.
asserted
campaign → tie → interview
In early 2026, Bass appeared to be catching a break.
asserted
Bass → appear → break
For a year, she had faced persistent criticism over the city’s preparation and response to the Palisades fire in January 2025, as well as the fact that she was traveling abroad when the disaster began.
asserted
disaster → face → January
Her popularity had begun to rebound after the Trump administration’s crackdown on anti-ICE protests in the summer of that year, and mass immigration raids across the region.
asserted
popularity → begin → region
Bass had spoken out forcefully against the operations, praising the role immigrants from around the world play in Los Angeles, and at one point personally confronted border patrol agents who had deployed to a park in an immigrant neighborhood.
asserted
who → speak → neighborhood
Her response appeared to be shaped by her years of experience organizing and deep ties to immigrant groups, and was appreciated by many in the city.
asserted
response → appear → city
By February of this year, several competitors, including the billionaire Rick Caruso, who faced off against Bass during her first run, had announced that they would not challenge her, easing the mayor’s path to victory.
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they → include → victory
It also presented an opening.
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It → present → opening
The DSA member shocked the political establishment that year when she beat out an incumbent Democrat backed by Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.
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she → shock → Pelosi
Bass supported Raman’s bid for re-election to the council in 2024, and in 2026 the city councillor backed Bass’s re-election, calling her the most progressive mayor the city had ever seen.
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city → support → her
Hours before the filing deadline, however, Raman opted to run against Bass, surprising both allies and opponents.
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Raman → opt → allies
She told a reporter she felt the “call from Los Angeles … for change across the entire city”.
asserted
she → tell → city
Raman’s bid was initially a long shot, many political analysts agreed.
asserted
analysts → agree → ?
Key portions of the city’s liberal base and large unions had already aligned with Bass.
asserted
portions → align → Bass
As the primary race unfolded over spring, it was Spencer Pratt who grabbed headlines.
asserted
who → unfold → headlines
The former reality TV star and registered Republican decided to run for office after losing his home in the Palisades, arguing Los Angeles leaders were mismanaging the city, failed to do enough to prepare for the fire and were falling short in helping residents recover.
asserted
residents → register → fire
He offered raw criticism of Bass, and his ads frequently went viral.
asserted
ads → offer → Bass
Pratt’s performance in a debate appeared to boost his campaign as he sparred with the mayor while Raman struggled to find her footing and had comparatively little airtime.
asserted
Raman → appear → airtime
Donald Trump endorsed Pratt, a development political commentators said would hurt his candidacy in the deeply Democratic city.
asserted
commentators → endorse → city
Bass emerged as the frontrunner in the contest and, initially, as Pratt appeared on track to upend the race, Raman seemed almost prepared to lose.
asserted
Raman → emerge → race
Nearly a week after polls closed, it became clear she had narrowly eked out a win, beating Pratt by about 3.5%.
asserted
she → close → %
The months that followed were largely quiet, noted Zev Yaroslavsky, the director of the Los Angeles initiative at the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles.
asserted
Yaroslavsky → follow → California
“We had a whole summer where there was, at least to the average person, no campaign out there.
asserted
We → have → person
…and 63 more, not listed.
The Aporia
