Los Angeles voters will choose between Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman on Nov. 3, after the two finished first and second in the June 2 primary. Bass received 34.27% of the primary vote, Raman 29.02% and Spencer Pratt 25.53%, according to official county returns.
The latest Berkeley IGS poll puts Bass and Raman at 40% apiece among likely city voters, with 19% undecided. Its crosstabs report an unweighted sample of 2,197; the Los Angeles Times reported that online interviews in English and Spanish took place from Oct. 19 to 25, and that results carried about three percentage points of sampling error.
Public frustration is a central backdrop, though the UCLA survey measured county residents rather than just city voters. The 2026 Quality of Life Index scored 52, its lowest recorded result; six of its nine categories reached record lows. The release says 56% of respondents were dissatisfied with local government’s wildfire recovery efforts and rebuilding, while 26% reported income losses tied to the 2025 fires.
In the Berkeley IGS poll, reducing homeless encampments was the most frequently selected priority, at 43%. Public safety and affordable housing each drew 29%. Raman, a DSA-LA member whose mayoral campaign is endorsed by the local chapter, says her plan would triple annual housing construction.
The city’s own budget figures put routine service delivery alongside those policy promises. Los Angeles’ 2025–26 proposed budget estimates pothole repairs took seven working days in fiscal 2024–25, compared with 0.9 working days in 2021–22. It estimates single streetlight outage response at 231 working days in fiscal 2024–25, up from 31 in 2021–22.
Bass’ office, meanwhile, says homicides fell 47% between Oct. 22, 2022, and Oct. 22, 2026.
