The ballot is finalized (at least for now) in what is shaping up to be a dramatic 2026 race for L.A. mayor.
Here is a list of who is running, beginning with the top candidates. While the ballot is set, some candidates on this list could drop out.
Karen Bass
Bass was elected Los Angeles’ first female and second Black mayor in 2022 after decades of service in various elected offices. She has focused on homelessness and public safety while facing sharp criticism over the city’s response to 2025 fires.
Read more: Karen Bass profile (published 2022) Bass and response to Palisades fire (published 2025)
Rae Huang
Community organizer
Huang is a community organizer, minister and dues-paying member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. She is the deputy director of Housing Now California, a coalition that fights displacement of tenants at the state and local levels.
Read more:
She’s challenging Bass from the left. Could she become L.A.’s Mamdani?
Adam Miller
Nonprofit co-founder; tech executive
Adam Miller is co-founder of Better Angels, a nonprofit focused on preventing homelessness and building affordable housing. The tech executive made a fortune developing education software.
Read more:
Tech entrepreneur enters L.A. mayor’s race, becoming the latest to take on Karen Bass
Spencer Pratt
Reality TV star/activist
A Republican, Pratt has received praise from an array of Trump supporters, including Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. He has focused heavily on the city’s handling of the fire, which destroyed his home. He starred in such reality TV shows as “The Hills” and “Laguna Beach.”
Read more:
Pratt announces candidacy for mayor A challenge from the right in the race for L.A. mayor
Nithya Raman
L.A. City Council member
Raman, who won office in 2020, was the first council member to be elected with support from the Democratic Socialists of America. She is also aligned with the YIMBY groups who want to ramp up housing production in L.A.
Read more:
Councilmember Nithya Raman to run for L.A. mayor, challenging onetime ally Karen Bass Raman’s 2024 relection fight (published in 2024)
Other candidates:
Misael Ortega
Cassandra Faye Floyd
Tish Hyman
Adam Jeffrey Carmichael
Juanita Lopez
Stevie Maceo Milan
Asaad Alnajjar
Griselda Diaz
Keeldar Shawn Hamilton
Alyxandria-Jamil Carter
Nick Harron
Joseph Garcia
Robert “Goody” Goodman
Vincent Wali
Franziska Von Fischer
Andrew K. Kim
Nelson Cheng
Andrej A. Selivra
Bryant Acosta
Suzy Kim
Jeanne Moller Fontana
Preston James Miller
Adam Miller
Ernesto G. Castelli
Carmenlina Minasova
Jerry R. Tyler
Katya Forsyth
Erik Daniel Garcia
Alyssa Ball
Laura Garza
Victor F. Montes
Douglas Nichols
Debra “Jerri” Duggan
Benji Guerrero
Eoin Richard Connolly
John Logsdon
Source: L.A. City Clerk
The post Who is running for L.A. mayor? Here’s the list appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
