Staff Reports
The Los Angeles mayoral race flipped in the latest official batch of ballots, and Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman now leads Mayor Karen Bass by roughly 16,600 votes — 377,458 (51.12%) to 360,864 (48.88%) — but the outcome is still too close to call. County election officials are still processing mail, drop‑box and provisional ballots, so Angelenos should brace for more count updates in the days ahead. In short: the numbers shifted, but the race is not finished and won’t be certified anytime soon.
Why the count is taking so long
Los Angeles has a long counting process by design. Many ballots arrive by mail or are dropped off and must be verified and canvassed. That is normal. It just feels slow when a major race hangs in the balance. With a margin of about 2.2 percentage points, every batch matters. Election officials will keep posting updates until all valid ballots are added and the results are certified. For people who want a quick answer, this is frustrating. For everyone else, it’s how elections actually work in big cities.
What the shift tells us about the city
The narrow lead for Raman reads less like a massive endorsement and more like a rebuke of the incumbent. Voters have been angry about homelessness, public safety and the city’s response to disasters like the Palisades fire. Those issues dominated the campaign, and both candidates were hit hard by outside spending from unions and political groups. If Raman holds on, she will join a small group of self‑described democratic socialists now serving as mayors in major cities — an outcome that will matter to national observers and local voters alike.
What to watch next
Pay attention to how many ballots remain to be counted compared to the current margin. If the outstanding ballots are larger than the gap, expect more swings. Also watch for campaign statements about recounts or challenges if the final margin stays tight. County officials will post incremental batches; analysts will do the math. And yes, the political spending that flooded this race will get a post‑mortem from both sides, especially if the result stays within shouting distance.
For now, Los Angeles waits. Voters should want a clean, final count — not a rush job or partisan cheerleading. But a longer count does give time for fact, not fever, to determine the winner. And if you’re tired of the drama, you’re not alone. Just don’t expect the answer to come in a single night — this is the city where elections take as long as the traffic takes to clear.
