Democratic socialist defeats incumbent Karen Bass in Los Angeles mayor's race

Democratic socialist Nithya Raman has toppled incumbent Karen Bass in the race for mayor of Los Angeles.

Raman's win stunned political watchers in California after she entered the race as a long-shot candidate against Bass, a political heavyweight who previously served in Congress and had never lost a race for political office.

Raman has frequently been compared to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Both are democratic socialists and ran on progressive platforms.

Her win solidifies that America's two biggest cities will now be led by democratic socialists, which include some of the most high-profile politicians in the US, such as Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.