On the crest of a historic blue wave, Raman roused supporters — and danced
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Just after 11 on election night, Nithya Raman took the stage in a plum-colored dress outshined only by her smile.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had a narrow lead in early returns. But to Raman and her supporters who packed the plaza in front of the Greek Theatre, they had already won.
A blue deluge had swept across the U.S. to clear out the MAGA status quo that has gaslit Americans for too long. The clueless Republican ruling class’ only defense was that the liberal alternative was worse than the crap President Trump fed Americans while calling it apple pie.
Los Angeles is as blue as the Pacific, yet the same anti-establishment wave, fueled by voters frustrated with the high cost of living and a mayor who face-planted during crisis after crisis, had crashed hard here. Raman, a City Council member, was standing on its crest.
A campaign that started on the last possible day, dismissed by rivals as amateurish and given little chance to succeed against an incumbent with decades of experience and the support of nearly the entire L.A. Democratic establishment, was poised to win. Raman, 45, was expected to pull ahead as more ballots from younger, left-leaning Angelenos were counted.
The contest was in many ways generational, with 73-year-old Bass, a political veteran, courting longtime voters and Raman, 45, courting younger Angelenos.
Standing before Raman was the coalition that made her unlikely rise happen — one that, despite the obvious differences between L.A. and heartland politics, paralleled the one that made the Democratic Party’s takeover of the House and Senate possible.
There were the democratic socialists, who embarrassed mainline Democrats in L.A. once again with a blockbuster night for candidates endorsed by the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter. In addition to Raman’s strong initial showing, Marissa Roy was ahead in the city attorney’s race, and Angela Gonzales-Torres had a substantial lead in her Eastside congressional matchup against incumbent Jimmy Gomez, a scion of the fabled Eastside Latino machine.
There were young people like Arthur Johnson, a 23-year-old Cal State Northridge student who waited in a long line on campus earlier that day to vote in person, “because I wanted that old-school feeling.” Johnson told me that many of his friends were voting for the first time “because they hate Trump, they hate Karen, and they wanted change, however it came.”
There were Latinos like Eloisa Galindo, 45, of East Los Angeles, who showed me a cellphone video of her hanging a handmade pro-Raman manta — a bedsheet sign — on a freeway bridge over the weekend. In Texas and California, Latino voters turned out in huge numbers, helping to make history in each state by electing one of their own as governor for the first time. Galindo and her fellow members of Eastside Padres Contra la Privatización, a group created to help residents affected by the Lineage warehouse fire, felt that Raman represented a new, better way.
“She paid attention to us, and the mayor didn’t,” Galindo said in Spanish. “We felt discriminated against, we felt forgotten — but Nithya did none of that.”
Galindo and her crew were far in the back but cheered so loud that it practically echoed across Griffith Park. The Four Tops’ ”Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” faded out, and Raman beamed.
“Do you love Los Angeles?” she exclaimed. “Are you ready for an L.A. that loves you back? Look at the space around you. Look at what we built together.”
Her rousing speech surveyed the course of L.A. history, from its striving immigrants to Cecil B. DeMille to LGBTQ+ history to the creation of San Pedro’s harbor. She tied her campaign to an election year in which voters across America “demanded change” because they were “angry about a broken status quo, and the politicians who failed them over and over again.”
Angelenos, she said, have become convinced “that this is the best that we can do. Our City Hall became a place where we became so used to saying, ‘No,’ we forgot how to say ‘Yes.’”
She decried the “cynicism that started to take over this city, that started to make us believe that L.A.’s problems weren’t just bad, but they were permanent. That L.A.’s best days were behind us.”
Raman praised her supporters for believing in “hope” — for a better city, a better future, but also hope that even the most entrenched longtimer could be brought down by people who were just tired of being told their concerns didn’t matter.
She spoke for about half an hour and apologized for going on so long in the chilly weather — but no forgiveness was needed on a night like this. Supporters cried tears of joy and hugged one another, sharing political news of the city and also the country, as the energy in the crowd further amped up seemingly every half-hour. James Talarico won in Texas! Dr. Abdul El-Sayed took it in Michigan? Mississippi was in play?!
Was the blue wave real? Could it hold against an angry, vengeful Trump? On this night, at least, it would.
The Dodgers should sit Raman in their dugout come playoff time, because her knack for scoring while behind is almost preternatural.
“We have shown Los Angeles” that it’s “a city that is worth fighting for every single day of our lives,” Raman said.
She ended her speech by inviting her Indian American family to the stage — parents, brother, husband and twin 10-year-old children. Faces of a new, more progressive America, now likely the First Family of L.A. They descended the stairs together, and then a crush of Raman supporters stopped her for photos and congratulations.
Another Motown classic — “Dancing in the Streets” — blared, a song of freedom and boogie and promise from a previous generation.
Early in Raman’s speech, she asked the crowd for a favor: “Will you all get on the dance floor with me?” Many obliged, joining their leader to shimmy to Selena and other SoCal favorites.
Tomorrow would come the hard part: What to do next. But on this night, Raman and blue America would dance.
A few hours later, with more votes counted, she was ahead of Bass.
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Ideas expressed in the piece
- The article presents Raman’s strong early showing as part of a broader Democratic “blue wave” and a rejection of an entrenched political status quo, linking national anger over the cost of living and Trump-era politics with Angelenos’ dissatisfaction with City Hall.
- It portrays Raman’s coalition as a source of political energy: young first-time voters, Latino community members and democratic socialists were drawn to her message of change. Supporters cited her attention to neighborhoods they felt the incumbent had overlooked; other Raman backers emphasized her work on renter protections and homelessness in her council district.[4]
- Raman’s speech, as recounted in the article, framed the election as a choice between accepting the city’s problems as permanent and believing City Hall could deliver better results. Her campaign’s broader argument has been that homelessness spending needs stronger oversight and more lasting housing solutions, rather than relying heavily on temporary placements.[3][5]
- The article’s celebratory tone reflects the belief that Raman’s rise could signal a more progressive political direction for Los Angeles. It also acknowledges that governing—not winning the election-night crowd—would be the harder test.
Different views on the topic
- Bass and her supporters argue that experience matters in leading a large city, particularly with the 2028 Olympics approaching. Bass has called Raman unready for the job and argued that her positions on policing and homelessness are too extreme.[2][6]
- Bass has defended her record by pointing to encampment clearances and the placement of thousands of people in shelters through Inside Safe. Critics counter that the program is costly and that many participants return to homelessness, underscoring disagreement over whether temporary shelter or longer-term housing should be the priority.[2][3]
- Critics have also questioned Raman’s consistency on public safety and housing. Reporting has described changes in her positions on police staffing and the so-called mansion tax; Bass has argued that opposing additional police hires risks weakening the LAPD, while Raman has said staffing decisions need a sustainable funding plan.[1]
- Bass’s supporters further contend that Raman’s limited time on the council and strained relationships with colleagues raise questions about her ability to lead City Hall. Raman’s supporters dispute that assessment and argue that the incumbent’s record on homelessness and basic services is the more pressing concern.[2][3]
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