L.A. Mayor Election 2026 Results

After a campaign that got more personal at times than an Bravo reality series, no one tonight has been elected Mayor of Los Angeles yet.

In a Democrat vs. Democrat race that saw old allies Councilmember Nithya Raman and incumbent Karen Bass face off for many of the same constituents, tonight’s results so far reflected the dead heat the candidates had been in for the last two weeks.

As of 10:48 p.m. PT, with nearly 500,000 votes counted, the L.A. County Register-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office had Bass with 50.7% of the tallied votes and Raman at 49.3%.

The 10,000 vote margin between the two is so close that it will likely be a few days at least before a final count is achieved. Also, with half of the expected vote now accounted for, the initial votes cited Tuesday night are the mail-in ballots, so Raman could see a surge once the day of votes start coming in as her core base of younger Angelenos tend to go to the polls on Election Day itself.

On Tuesday night, as Democrats across the state and the nation were swept into power on a so-called blue tsunami, KTLA anchors called the bid for the City of Angels’ top job “a wild ride.” Certainly from two-term District 4 representative Raman jumping into the mayoral fray at the last minute, and the iIncendiary primary campaign of The Hills alum, ex-Palisades resident and Donald Trump fan Spencer Pratt, this year’s Mayor’s race has been remarkable. Add to that, the whims of mall builder and 2022 candidate Rick Caruso, Hollywood mergers and the decline of production and the endorsements of the Democratic elite, and the whole thing has been crazed — even by L.A. political standards.

Declaring herself “confident” of victory when all is said and counted, Bass had a watching event in Hollywood Tuesday. Raman gathered with supporters at the Greek Theatre in Griffith Park as they awaited more results tonight. From a big Bass lead around the June primary to a double digit led by Raman a month ago, both candidates were fighting for Pratt voters to gain an electoral edge.

Tonight, with Tinseltown never far from the race, Pratt mocked Bass and Raman as “Dumb and Dumber,” with an extra swipe at the incumbent for finding herself in such a tight position.

Both Bass and Raman, who is married to a TV writer/producer, have promised to improve conditions to make it easier and more affordable to film in L.A.. For all her history around the state’s film and TV tax incentives, the incumbent has been criticized for only truly turning the power of her office to stemming the sharp decline in production and industry jobs in the City of Angels as her reelection loomed. Raman has been accused of missing vital City Council votes on the issue.

This summer, as the antitrust lawsuit from state Attorney General’s office against Paramount’s $111 billion purchase of Warner Bros Discovery picked up steam, Bass joined Gavin Newsom and exhibitors in pushing AG Rob Bonta to strike a deal with David Ellison as the CEO was whispered to be threatening to leave California. The WGA endorsed Raman was always opposed to the ParaBros deal, However, once Ellison achieved his corporate dream with the sign-off by a federal judge, Raman used a Hollywood confab on October 1 to publicly offer a hand to the Oracle scion to work together.

Along with Pratt, both Bass and Raman back a bipartisan federal film and TV tax credit. With the Democrats’ big wins tonight, whether passing that program is a top priority or not remains to be seen.