Los Angeles voters head to the polls Tuesday, June 2, deciding whether to reelect Mayor Karen Bass or back challengers Spencer Pratt and Nithya Raman. With early results expected after polls close at 8 p.m., the contest could push a runoff into November if no
By 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, Los Angeles will know whether Mayor Karen Bass has held onto the office she won in 2022—or whether the city moves to someone else as its political and policy battles intensify.
The stakes feel immediate for a city still carrying heavy memories from last year’s Palisades Fire and the backlash that followed Bass’s response. Polling has shown Bass. Spencer Pratt and Nithya Raman as the leading names going into primary day. with results arriving as ballots are counted in the hours after polls close.
Pratt has made himself the standout contrast. The candidate. whose home was lost to the Palisades Fire last January. has positioned himself as Bass’s “worst nightmare.” In his pitch to voters. he frames his lack of government experience as an advantage for a city “in dire need of fixing. ” leaning on the idea of common sense rather than insider control.
Raman’s entry, earlier this year, stirred her own kind of pressure on Bass. Her last-minute run fueled buzz over what it could mean for the incumbent. particularly as Bass has spoken publicly about frustrations with how the city is being run and concerns about the “political establishment. ” including administrative slog and scrutiny over her homelessness program. Inside Safe.
Pratt and Raman aren’t the only contenders. More than a dozen people are on the ballot in total, including Adam Miller, a nonprofit executive and entrepreneur, and Rae Huang, a progressive pastor and housing advocate.
Bass, for her part, is defending a record that voters have been asked to evaluate quickly. She was elected mayor in 2022 after defeating businessman Rick Caruso. Early in her tenure. she signed an executive directive on affordable housing and temporary housing and launched her Inside Safe program. intended to move people off the streets and from encampments into housing.
Still, a shadow sits over her campaign: scrutiny over her handling of the Palisades Fire last year. Despite that, Bass was reportedly endorsed by former Vice President Kamala Harris. Other high-profile endorsements include Magic Johnson and unions such as the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO.
Political math will matter if the primary is close. Fernando Guerra. a political science professor at Loyola Marymount University and director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles. warned that incumbents typically face real consequences when they don’t consolidate majority support. “The reason you don’t win the primary is because the majority of the people don’t want you. ” Guerra said.
Whoever emerges from the primary will be responsible for leading Los Angeles for four years, with another major deadline already on the horizon: the city is set to host the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The counting picture is straightforward, but the outcome isn’t. Polls close at 8 p.m. on June 2. Early results from ballots cast before Election Day are expected to trickle in after polls close. but counting continues after Election Day. according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
If no candidate receives a majority in the non-partisan primary, the election won’t end that night. The two candidates with the most votes will advance to a runoff election in November.
That primary decision is landing alongside other local races across Southern California on June 2. In Los Angeles City Council elections, all odd-numbered districts have seats up for grabs. The District 9 race is particularly key because longtime representative Curren Price is termed out; candidates are Martha Sánchez. Jose Ugarte. Estuardo Mazariegos. Elmer Roldan. Jorge Hernandez Rosas and Jorge Nuño. with two write-in candidates also listed on a certified list of write-in candidates.
In District 11, incumbent Traci Park is defending her seat from Faizah Malik, a civil rights attorney endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, Los Angeles. The district includes more affluent areas of the city like the Pacific Palisades and Brentwood.
Outside the city, voters will consider a countywide temporary general sales tax increase for health care services. The measure would raise the sales tax by half a percent. tied to anticipated strain on health care and other services in the county due to the Trump tax and spending bill signed into law last year. The increase is expected to generate $1 billion annually and would be in effect for five years if voters approve it.
On the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Hilda Solis, who represents District 1, is termed out. Five contenders are running: Noel Almario, Elaine Alaniz, Maria Elena Durazo, Annabella Figueroa Mazariegos and David E. Argudo.
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, an incumbent, is running for reelection for District 3, covering parts of the San Fernando Valley and the Westside. She faces Tonia Arey, Carmenlina Minasyan and Tomás Sidenfaden.
The final question for Los Angeles isn’t only who wins—it’s what kind of mandate the city chooses to grant, and how much of Bass’s agenda, Pratt’s outsider argument, and Raman’s critique will survive the counting that follows 8 p.m. on June 2.
Los Angeles mayor primary Karen Bass Spencer Pratt Nithya Raman Palisades Fire Inside Safe 2028 Summer Olympics Los Angeles County sales tax Hilda Solis Lindsey Horvath