Airbnb's $750,000 and the LAPD Union's $1.2 Million: The Money Behind LA's Mayor Race

New city campaign finance data, reported by LAist, shows spending backing Karen Bass outpacing Nithya Raman about 3 to 1 overall — and 36 to 1 among the committees with no contribution limits.

The first substantial picture of who is paying for the Los Angeles mayor's race is now on the record, and it is lopsided. According to campaign finance data reported by LAist, money supporting Mayor Karen Bass — direct donations, public matching funds and outside spending combined — has outpaced money backing City Councilmember Nithya Raman by roughly 3 to 1.

The gap widens sharply in the part of the system with no ceiling. Independent expenditure committees, which can raise and spend unlimited sums so long as they do not coordinate with a campaign, have backed Bass over Raman 36 to 1. Direct giving is capped at $1,800 per donor per cycle. Among that limited money, donors who gave $1,000 or more account for 47% of Bass' donors and 18% of Raman's.

The biggest single spenders

The largest reported spender so far is the LAPD officers' union, which reported $1.2 million on ads against Raman, who made the runoff, and against progressive community organizer Rae Huang, who did not. The figures cover reporting for the 2026 election cycle, including the run-up to the June primary.

Second is Airbnb, which gave $750,000 to a committee backing Bass. LAist notes that this year Bass advanced a proposal backed by the company to loosen city rules by allowing hosts to rent out second homes and investment properties through 2028.

Commercial landlord Douglas Emmett, one of the city's largest, gave $525,000 to the police union's main spending committee. At least $225,000 of that was disclosed on the committee's anti-Raman ads. The company is known for attempting what LAist describes as the largest eviction from rent-controlled housing in Los Angeles in at least four decades, citing a need to upgrade fire sprinklers. The city declined to intervene legally on the renters' behalf; the renters sued and won a 2024 court ruling that found the evictions illegal.

Labor money has also moved toward Bass: about $200,000 from Laborers' Local 300, which represents construction and maintenance workers, and $180,000 from affiliates of SEIU, which represents most of the city's own workforce.

Smaller checks, specific asks

• $100,000 to a pro-Bass committee from the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California.
• $50,000 to a pro-Bass committee from Kaiser Permanente CEO Gregory Adams.
• $50,000 to a pro-Raman committee from Arts District redeveloper Yuval Bar-Zemer.
• $25,000 to a pro-Bass committee from the real estate company of Frank McCourt, who co-owns the parking lots around Dodger Stadium and has been seeking approvals from the Metro board — which Bass sits on and now chairs — for a gondola project.

Unions also spent heavily against former reality TV figure Spencer Pratt, who did not reach the runoff. The L.A. County Federation of Labor reported about $500,000 against him, paid by a committee largely funded by the union representing county sheriff's deputies. Pratt drew about $329,000 in support from the Save L.A. committee, funded largely by four executives: John Hering of Lookout, Jason Larian of Zero Point Capital, David Dollinger of Dollinger Properties and Phillip Sarofim of Trousdale Ventures.

Why the totals stay blurry

Bass began the year with $1.5 million already in her re-election account; Raman started fundraising in February. Friday, Aug. 1, was the deadline for a fuller set of filings covering all raising and spending in the first half of this year — meaning the picture above is a floor, not a final count. As LAist notes, independent expenditure money often passes through several committees, some pooling funds for multiple races, which makes it difficult for the public to trace a dollar from donor to ad.

The general election is Nov. 3, with ballots mailed to registered voters about a month beforehand.