Nithya Raman has been elected Mayor of Los Angeles, unseating outgoing Democrat Mayor Karen Bass and marking another victory for the far-left Democratic Socialists of America during the 2026 midterm elections.
ICE and Sanctuary Cities.
Raman has repeatedly described U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as “racist” and supports abolishing the agency. She has promised to make Los Angeles “the strongest sanctuary city in the country,” according to her campaign website.
Her immigration platform, titled “Immigrants In, ICE Out,” includes preventing the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, expanding taxpayer-funded deportation defense, prohibiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations on city-owned property, preventing federal immigration agencies from accessing municipal data, and conducting an audit of LAPD practices to identify any cooperation with ICE.
Raman has also vowed to “Appoint an LAPD Chief unequivocally committed to protecting immigrants and upholding our sanctuary city protections.”
I’m an immigrant. This country and this city gave my family a future. It should do the same for everyone.
We need City Hall to use all its powers to protect its citizens.
We need to abolish ICE.
No fear. No kings. pic.twitter.com/af1UfeDLIm— Nithya Raman (@nithyavraman) March 29, 2026
Defunding the Police.
Raman explicitly advocated to “Defund the police” during her 2020 City Council campaign. She has also advocated transferring police funding towards community services. However, Raman ostensibly moderated her position during her 2026 mayoral campaign. Specifically, she advocated maintaining the existing LAPD force of approximately 8,700 officers, although she opposed hiring another 170, similar to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s policy to cap New York Police Department recruitment during his own mayoral campaign.
“Her shameless attempt to rewrite her abysmal record on protecting Angelenos should tell voters about the type of person she actually is,” said the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the trade union representing the LAPD, in response to Raman’s reversal of her previous abolitionist position.
Back in October, Raman shared an Instagram video suggesting that outgoing Mayor Karen Bass and LAPD Police Chief Jim McDonnell were “fascist liars,” emphasizing the latter’s handling of last year’s federal immigration raids.
‘Dear White Staffers.’
Raman has repeatedly shared and engaged with content from Dear White Staffers (DWS), an anonymous Instagram account known for circulating unsubstantiated and unverified accusations of racism, discrimination, and workplace abuse submitted by congressional employees. The account gained traction in 2022 but pivoted to anti-Israel content following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas.
DSA Endorsement.
Back in September, the Los Angeles chapter of the far-left Democratic Socialists of America (LA-DSA) endorsed Raman’s mayoral campaign with a membership vote of 937 in favor, 484 against, and 52 abstentions. The endorsement triggered a major internal dispute over Resolution 22 (R22), the DSA’s national resolution requiring local chapters to question mayoral candidates about their support for the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Specifically, the LA chapter omitted the question from its questionnaire, and it was subsequently revealed that Raman had disavowed the BDS movement in 2020.
Nevertheless, the National Political Committee, the DSA’s internal governing body, voted 14-13 against rescinding the endorsement of Raman, who described BDS as a “legitimate form of peaceful protest” back in September.
Going Forward.
Raman will be sworn in as Mayor in December. Her election represents another triumph for the far left in California, following the election of Angela Gonzales-Torres to California’s 34th Congressional District. Following the results of the midterm elections, California is home to the most DSA-endorsed officeholders, spanning every level of government, and the second-largest source of DSA representation in the House of Representatives, surpassed only by New York.
