Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and challenger Nithya Raman concluded their campaigns Monday with final rallies and voter outreach efforts, as the race for the city's leadership remained tightly contested.
Polls indicated a near tie between the two candidates, with a UC Berkeley/Los Angeles Times poll showing them each at 40% among likely voters, and 19% undecided. Political consultant Rick Taylor noted that the final stretch of the campaign saw momentum shift, suggesting Bass might have an advantage, particularly with Latino voters. Taylor predicted that the outcome might not be known until the day after the election.
Mayor Bass spent her final campaign day visiting various locations across the city. She began at Homegirl Cafe in Chinatown with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, followed by a meet-and-greet with former Congressman Tony Cardenas in Pacoima. Her schedule also included a business walk through Historic Filipinotown and a ribbon-cutting for new housing for young people aging out of foster care. Bass planned to conclude the day by rallying volunteers and attending a downtown tribute to civil rights leader Dolores Huerta.
"I don’t take anything for granted, but I can tell you that I think the undecideds have begun to shift," Bass told reporters Monday morning, expressing confidence about Election Day. She pledged to address homeless encampments, increase police staffing, and improve affordability in Los Angeles if re-elected.
Challenger Nithya Raman focused her final day of campaigning on engaging younger voters and those concerned about the city's affordability crisis. She appeared with higher-education workers from UAW Local 4811 at UCLA, emphasizing the challenges faced by young people trying to establish lives in Los Angeles. Raman's campaign reported knocking on nearly 100,000 doors since the June primary.
"Young people who are moving to the city who want to build their life here, who want to be able to afford to build their dreams here, and are unable to do it because we have a mayoral administration in a city hall that has ignored their needs for far too long," Raman stated.
The campaign has been marked by significant clashes over issues including homelessness, police staffing levels, the Palisades fire, and accountability at City Hall. Los Angeles is currently grappling with an estimated 45,194 homeless residents, a decrease in police force numbers, and rising living costs.