TOI correspondent from Washington: Nithya Raman stood before supporters at a downtown Los Angeles brewery in June, struggling to hold back tears. The early primary election returns had placed her third in the race for mayor, behind incumbent Karen Bass and reality tv personality Spencer Pratt, and it looked like the end of the road for her. She gave what was almost a concession speech. Her father Venkit Raman, an IITian, comforted campaign workers, telling them her full name Nithya Varsha means ‘everlasting monsoon,’ and her political life would be replenished soon.
And appropriately too enough considering her husband, Vali Chandrasekaran, is a successful television writer and producer whose credits include 30 Rock and Modern Family. Even then, few gave the 45-year old political tyro, with only six years of experience on the City Council, any chance. Raman herself had once supported Bass, and the 73-year old party stalwart had the backing of the Democratic establishment, including endorsements from Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Governor Gavin Newsom. The devastating January 2025 Palisades wildfire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes, became a defining political liability. On Tuesday night, her persistence paid off, and although the race has not been officially called, she is ahead by 25,000 votes and looks likely to seal the deal. Bernie Sanders subsequently took the argument national with his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020 bringing democratic socialism into mainstream political conversation, particularly among younger Americans frustrated by inequality, expensive healthcare, housing costs and the influence of corporate money. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (AOC’s) stunning 2018 primary victory over veteran Democrat Joe Crowley gave the movement another national face. The election of Mamdani as New York mayor in 2025 was an even bigger breakthrough.
Because after all this is the la la land of Hollywood where plot twists are common, it came sooner than anyone expected. Because bass did not get 50 per cent of the vote, there would be a run-off election in November, a batch of late ballots that came in took Raman past Pratt to second place, and. In the mid-terms, six DSA-endorsed candidates have won seats in the House of Representatives: Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez in New York (both backed by Mamdani), Melat Kiros in Colorado, Angela Gonzales-Torres in California, Donavan McKinney in Michigan and Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania. DSA members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib also won re-election.
What Bass could not quite escape was the perception that Los Angeles is broken and she did not have the toolkit to fix it. Bass was abroad when the mishap occurred and her handling of the disaster and recovery became a persistent political liability. Raman’s campaign ignited. She offered herself as the candidate of change, promising better housing, improved public services and more accountable government. An urban planner by training, she could talk about the nuts and bolts of city administration rather than simply deliver ideological sermons. Mamdani defeated Democratic political heavyweight Andrew Cuomo by campaigning on affordable housing, free bus services, universal childcare and a city government that would work for ordinary people. The movement now has a growing presence in municipal government. Besides Mamdani in New York, democratic socialist or DSA-affiliated mayors include Katie Wilson in Seattle, Janeese Lewis George in Washington DC, Emma Mulvaney-Stanak in Burlington, Robert Cantelmo in Ithaca and Eduardo Martinez in Richmond, California.
She invited supporters to join her in a dance on Wednesday, the tears in June now forgotten.