Nithya Raman ran for LA mayor because Karen Bass couldn’t beat Spencer Pratt

Raman, who had previously endorsed Bass for reelection before abruptly launching her own campaign just before the filing deadline, made the comments while struggling to explain her reversal during a recent interview. Asked why she endorsed Bass only to challenge her months later, Raman acknowledged that she viewed the race as headed toward a showdown between Bass and Pratt. "I realized that the options ahead of us at that point were, you know, an incumbent, an establishment status quo that felt deeply, deeply dissatisfying to me, and Spencer Pratt, a reality TV star, a conspiracy theorist, a MAGA Republican. And those were going to be our only two options," Raman said.

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She went on to argue that Bass could not secure an outright primary victory. "What that meant in actuality was potentially months of that election," she said, "because the mayor wasn't polling high enough to make it over the 50% margin." Raman's candidacy came as a shock within Democratic circles. After publicly backing Bass for another term, she reversed course just hours before the filing deadline, now attributed to splitting the vote against Spencer Pratt.

Before this sudden turn of events, Pratt had built a large and dedicated online following and mounted a hugely successful outsider campaign focused on crime, homelessness, and dissatisfaction with City Hall. His momentum caught Bass off guard, as early election returns showed him in good standing for a place in the runoff before late-counted ballots suddenly shifted the race. Raman ultimately edged Pratt for second place, setting up an all-Democrat ballot.

Bass is yet to confirm if there was any formal coordination between their campaigns, but has previously said she was surprised by Raman's late entry into the race.

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