Karen Bass Concedes. Nithya Raman Won Without a Single Council Endorsement.

Raman led by 34,654 votes in the county's latest count, while 13 of her 14 council colleagues had endorsed Bass.

Karen Bass conceded the Los Angeles mayor's race Thursday and said in a statement that she'd called Councilmember Nithya Raman to congratulate her. Raman is now set to become the city's 44th mayor, FOX 11 reported.

In the county registrar's Thursday update, Raman led by 34,654 votes with 76% of ballots tallied, FOX 11 reported. Not one of the council members she serves with had endorsed her. Thirteen of the 14 backed Bass, including fellow members of the Democratic Socialists of America, LAist reported.

Now she needs them. Her budget and every appointee she names go through the council, and its members will decide who takes over her 4th District seat. She takes office Dec. 14, according to LAist.

Nearly every council member pledged to work with the mayor-elect once Bass conceded, LAist reported. "Disagreement is inevitable, but dysfunction is a choice," Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who chairs the budget committee, told LAist.

The council's surprise goes back to February. Raman filed on Feb. 7, the last day she could, only weeks after endorsing Bass, LAist reported. Bass held a slim lead in the first returns on election night, and Raman pulled in front early Wednesday. Her share rose from 51.67% Wednesday night to 52.1% Thursday, Deadline reported.

"While this is not the outcome we hoped for, the people of Los Angeles have spoken," Bass said in her statement, which also promised a smooth transition. Raman answered with a short video on X that opened, "Los Angeles, I am deeply honored to be your next mayor," and she promised people who voted for Bass or didn't vote that she'd work to win their trust.

Raman will be the first South Asian mayor in L.A. history, LAist reported. Bass's own statement recalled that voters had made her the city's first Black woman mayor four years ago. No sitting L.A. mayor had lost a bid for a second term in 21 years, according to L.A. TACO.

The count isn't finished. Ballots postmarked by Election Day still count if they arrive within seven days, and the county is scheduled to certify results by Nov. 27, LAist reported.

The council won't wait for that to get started. Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Bass's closest council ally, has an office pointing toward an appointment for Raman's seat rather than a special election, and a senior adviser to him told LAist the council would talk the choice over with her. So her first deal with the council that backed her opponent will be over who takes her old seat.

Source: foxla.com, retrieved November 6, 2026. Other sources: LAist, LAist (2), Deadline, lataco.com.