Democratic socialist Nithya Raman becomes mayor of Los Angeles

On November 5, Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman was declared the winner of the local mayoral race, defeating the incumbent, Karen Bass, with nearly 53 percent of the vote.

In a video shared on social media after the results were announced, the 45-year-old Raman said, "Los Angeles, I am deeply honoured to be your next mayor."

She added, "I love this city. I believe in its people. The work ahead will be hard, and change will take time. And together, we are going to build a future as extraordinary as the city we call home."

Raman's victory is the latest example of a candidate who identifies as a democratic socialist notching a win in a major election. When she takes office in December, Los Angeles will join an expanding list of cities overseen or soon to be led by democratic socialist mayors, including New York City; Seattle, Washington; Providence, Rhode Island; and the capital of the United States, Washington, DC.

Those successes have been fueled by a series of factors, including the popular belief that the political and economic status quo favours the wealthy.

"The idea that the economy is rigged is pretty common," said Shawn Gude, author of the book American Socialist: The Life and Legacy of Eugene V Debs. The book profiles Debs, a political leader and presidential candidate who helped galvanise a socialist movement in the US in the early 1900s.

Gude explained that the struggle for common Americans to access basic services and necessities has long fuelled such movements. "Democratic socialists have been effective at tapping into that anger and a desire for something better," he said.

Raman's victory was one of several results in the 2026 midterm elections that underscored the rise of democratic socialism, and its main organising body, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), as a serious force in US politics.

In a statement following the elections, the organisation said, "DSA has quadrupled our presence in the halls of Congress, sending a socialist bloc to DC that will fight to put people over profits."

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a DSA member, was not on the ballot this year, but his focus on cost-of-living issues and affordability was adopted by other Democrats, including three congressional candidates he endorsed. All three, Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, won seats in Congress for the first time during this year's midterms.

In Colorado, a 29-year-old Ethiopian immigrant named Melat Kiros also claimed victory in her congressional race with DSA support after toppling a Democratic incumbent in the party primary.

Los Angeles similarly saw democratic socialists score wins in municipal races and pick up a seat in California's 34th Congressional District, where Angela Gonzales-Torres defeated Democratic incumbent Jimmy Gomez.

Critics say that establishment candidates often rely on an advantage in funding over socialist rivals. But Leslie Chang, the cochair of the Los Angeles DSA, says the organisation tries to make up for those disadvantages with an enthusiasm and ground game that their opponents cannot match.

"DSA really leans heavily on our field operations. We bring people into our movement through face-to-face conversations at the doors," Chang said.

While the number of democratic socialists in elected office remains relatively small in the US, the recent elections show the movement is steadily growing stronger in the country's big cities.