"A Western Mamdani?" Indian American Nithya Raman, an Anti-Trump Figure, Enters LA Mayoral Race

[Financial News] A progressive Indian American politician has entered the mayoral race in the largest city in the U.S. West, Los Angeles (LA), drawing significant public attention.
The political outlet Politico reported on the 9th (local time) that LA City Council member Nithya Raman had abruptly announced her candidacy for mayor. Politico described Raman as similar in many respects to recently inaugurated New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Raman was born in India’s southern Kerala state and immigrated to the United States with her family at the age of six. She graduated from Harvard University and earned a master’s degree in urban planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Mamdani is also the U.S.-raised child of Indian immigrant parents and is regarded as a progressive politician.
Their political orientations are similar as well. Both belong to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), one of the leading left-wing political organizations in the United States, and have made big-city housing shortages, soaring rents, and housing insecurity central themes of their agendas.
Raman currently chairs the Los Angeles City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee. She has led policies to restrict evictions of tenants behind on rent and has pushed for an ordinance capping annual apartment rent increases at 4%.
If Raman wins, the nation’s second-largest city would, following New York, also be led by an immigrant mayor aligned with democratic socialism. LA is the second most populous city in the United States after New York.
Some observers say her political experience surpasses Mamdani’s. In 2020, Raman defeated incumbent Korean American politician David Ryu in the LA City Council race, and she went on to win reelection in 2024. She is seen as already tested in terms of local name recognition and organizational strength.
Mike Bonin, head of the public policy institute at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), stated, "If Zohran Mamdani was relatively close to a newcomer, Nithya Raman is someone who has already built a solid base in LA politics."
The New York Times (NYT) analyzed that Raman is likely to become the strongest challenger to incumbent LA Mayor Karen Bass, who is seeking a second term. The paper also projected that she could erode Bass’s existing support base, particularly among progressive voters.
Right after announcing her candidacy, Raman said, "LA has reached a breaking point," adding, "In recent months, I have felt a sense of crisis that if we don’t see meaningful change soon, the systems we have relied on may no longer function."
In U.S. political circles, some interpret Raman’s rise as part of a broader trend in which progressive, anti-Trump figures are moving to the forefront in major cities ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.

#USPolitics #LAMayoralElection #NithyaRaman #DemocraticSocialists #ImmigrantPolitics #USLocalElections

km@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-min Reporter