The 2026 race

Councilmember Nithya Raman had endorsed Bass for reelection. On February 7, 2026, hours before the filing deadline, she entered the race. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath considered running, stayed out and endorsed Raman on October 20. [1] [2] [3] [5]

Bass runs on fast-tracked affordable housing and Inside Safe; Raman on tenant protections and cheaper subsidy models. YIMBY groups back Raman; building-trades groups back Bass. Raman’s critics call her a socialist; that label is theirs. [1] [4]

Spencer Pratt, a Republican who lost his home in the Palisades fire, ran on the city’s response and called Bass “an incredible liar” in the May 6 debate. National Review, no friend of Bass, wrote that she downplayed her responsibility and that Pratt “bent the truth in certain spots.” [1] [2]

He finished third with 25.5%, winning the Palisades, Brentwood and Bel-Air heavily. He accused CBS of letting Bass’s side edit his interview, then praised the network after it posted the full interview; CBS denied any outside influence. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Certified results: Bass 292,593 (34.26%), Raman 247,781 (29.01%), Pratt 217,977 (25.52%). Bass and Raman advanced to the November 3 runoff. [1] [2]

Posts claimed a 24,000-vote batch gave Pratt zero votes. Reuters, PolitiFact, Poynter and the Times found an AP data feed had split one update in two; Pratt got 21,870 votes in the second piece. The county confirmed he received votes in every official update, and the Justice Department found no discrepancy, CNN reported. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Berkeley IGS for the Los Angeles Times (September 15–20, 2,150 likely voters): Raman 39%, Bass 28%, 33% undecided. McLaughlin & Associates for the California Post (October 15–18, 400 voters): Raman 46.7%, Bass 38.8%, with 71.7% disapproving of Bass’s job performance. BSP Research among Latino voters (October 1–8): Bass 40%, Raman 28%. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Rick Caruso praised her rebuilding work beside her on October 20 but did not endorse her. Councilmember Traci Park said she would vote for Bass. [5] [6]

In the October 13 debate, Bass’s “homelessness fell 11%” needed clarification (citywide: down 2.3% since 2023); Raman’s “nearly 50% drop” applied only to unsheltered people in her own district, 181 to 93. Bass’s claim to have cut red tape for rebuilding was accurate, though only 50 homes were finished by October 8. [1] [2]

In May, Bass said near-100-mph winds grounded aircraft. A CBS fact-check, as reported by others, said winds were weaker in the first hours and helicopters dropped water early; Reuters had documented that aircraft were grounded later on January 7. [3] [4] Her “the chief sent home 1,000 firefighters” line is now the subject of a defamation suit (see the command chapter).