Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman won the local mayoral race on November 5, defeating incumbent Karen Bass with nearly 53 percent of the vote. When she takes office in December, Los Angeles will join other cities led or soon to be led by democratic socialist mayors, including New York City, Seattle, Providence, and Washington, DC.
Growth of the Movement
Raman’s victory was among several results in the 2026 midterm elections that highlighted the rise of democratic socialism and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The organisation stated that it quadrupled its presence in Congress. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani focused on affordability, a stance adopted by other Democrats, while candidates such as Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Melat Kiros won congressional seats with DSA support. In Los Angeles, Angela Gonzales-Torres won a seat in California’s 34th Congressional District by defeating Democratic incumbent Jimmy Gomez.
While establishment candidates often hold funding advantages, Los Angeles DSA co-chair Leslie Chang stated that the organisation relies on enthusiasm and field operations, noting that they engage people through face-to-face conversations at doors. A YouGov poll in October showed that 50 percent of voters would support a democratic socialist. However, this growth has brought internal debates, such as a narrow 14-to-13 vote by a national DSA panel just before the election on whether to withdraw Raman’s endorsement over her past positions regarding Israel.
Focus on Municipal Administration
Many democratic socialists focus on good governance and municipal administration. Raman, a former urban planner, ran under the campaign slogan “a city that works” and pledged to address housing and homelessness. Chang stated that the organisation wants to remain engaged with constituents on larger issues and basic services like rubbish pick-up and infrastructure fixes so voters see tangible improvements.
Shawn Gude, author of American Socialist: The Life and Legacy of Eugene V Debs, explained that ordinary Americans struggling to access basic services have long fuelled socialist movements by channelling anger into a desire for better conditions. Gude noted that this approach mirrors an earlier generation known as “sewer socialism,” which delivered practical improvements for working people through measures like public parks and sewage systems in poor neighbourhoods.
