From council outsider to city hall

Raman first reached the Los Angeles city council in 2020, when she beat a sitting council member - the first ouster of an incumbent there in 17 years. One local political analyst called the result "a political earthquake". That campaign was backed by Bernie Sanders and made her the first DSA-endorsed candidate elected to office in Los Angeles.

Before running, she had worked as entertainment director for Time's Up, the Hollywood-founded organization behind a legal defense fund against sexual assault and harassment, and in 2017 she was one of five co-founders of the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition, a volunteer group in north-east Los Angeles that now counts 800 volunteers.

A grassroots campaign, twice

She has credited her organizing operation for her rise, telling the Guardian: "We knocked on 80,000 doors, which as far as we know, is a record." By the general election in 2020, she said, her campaign had 2,000 volunteers, 1,000 of them in its Slack.

The two candidates also split Hollywood backing:

• •Mindy Kaling, Adam Scott and Jaboukie Young-White endorsed Raman.
• •Jane Fonda and Samuel L Jackson backed Bass.

Housing at the center of the platform

Raman joined DSA-LA in 2019, saying it was "one of the only organizations that was meaningfully talking about housing affordability in the city". Housing carried through to her mayoral platform, which calls for more homes across all income levels, from deed-restricted affordable housing to market-rate units, along with social housing and homeless shelters. She has set a goal of tripling annual housing construction in the city, a pledge that won her an endorsement from Yimby Action.

A complicated relationship with the left

Her ties to DSA-LA have not been smooth. The chapter held back from endorsing her in the primary, a race Raman joined at the last minute despite having previously backed Bass. She finished ahead of reality star Spencer Pratt for second place and moved on to the runoff against Bass.

DSA-LA later endorsed her enthusiastically, while noting her relationship with the chapter and the broader Angeleno grassroots left "has had some ups and downs" - citing an inconsistent position on Palestine and a conflict over her 2024 endorsement from a pro-Israel Democratic club.

In early November, a national DSA political committee voted 14-13 against rescinding the local endorsement over her stance on Israel, per the Los Angeles Times. She also split with the DSA by arguing the city's mansion tax, which raised less revenue than hoped, needed reform - a stance she called an "extremely unpopular sentiment". Vanity Fair reported that she favors the Scandinavian model of social democracy, with a regulated free-market economy, rather than the DSA's anti-capitalist vision.

Pressed on the Zohran Mamdani comparison, Raman said she was "very grateful" to be measured against such a skilled communicator and leader, adding: "But I am different. I am myself."

DSA-LA celebrated her victory with a post reading "YUP, that's our mayor!!!" before the Associated Press called the election.