Indian-American Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman will face incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the only live televised debate of the mayoral runoff on Tuesday, with a recent poll showing Raman leading by 11 percentage points, although one-third of likely voters remain undecided.
The debate comes as voters have already received their mail-in ballots, with Election Day scheduled for November 3. Homelessness, housing affordability, public safety, economic development and preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games are expected to feature prominently in the discussion.
A poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies, in partnership with the Los Angeles Times, found that 39 per cent of likely voters supported Raman, compared with 28 per cent for Bass. Another 33 per cent remained undecided.
The online survey covered 2,150 likely city voters between September 15 and 20 and had a margin of error of approximately three percentage points. The survey was conducted before ballots were mailed to voters.
Among likely Latino voters, Raman recorded 45 per cent support against 21 per cent for Bass, while 34 per cent remained undecided, according to the poll.
Bass has criticized the survey, saying she does not consider Raman the frontrunner, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported.
Both candidates are Democrats and were longtime political allies before Raman entered the mayoral race on the final day of candidate filing in February. Raman had publicly endorsed Bass earlier in the year but launched her own campaign weeks later, arguing that the city “can't seem to manage the basics.”
Raman finished second behind Bass in the June primary, ahead of former reality television personality Spencer Pratt. Many Pratt supporters have yet to choose a candidate for the runoff, contributing to the high proportion of undecided voters, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The contest has also become increasingly contentious in recent days over the city's police department.
Raman, 45, was born in India and moved to the United States as a child. First elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2020, she would become the city's first Indian-American mayor if elected.
Her candidacy is among several campaigns by Indian-American candidates seeking historic firsts in the November 3 elections.
Los Angeles holds nonpartisan mayoral elections. When no candidate secures a majority in the June primary, the two leading candidates advance to a November runoff.