Councilwoman Nithya Raman, right, will challenge Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in the 2026 election. (photo courtesy of Councilwoman Nithya Raman)

The candidate fields for the 2026 Los Angeles Municipal Election are set in the races for mayor, city attorney, city controller and the 5th and 13th L.A. City Council districts.

Candidates had until Feb. 7 to file a letter of intent to run, and a surprise candidate threw her hat into the ring at the last minute in the race for Los Angeles mayor. City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who currently represents the City Council’s 4th District, announced on Feb. 7 that she is challenging incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in a race that includes 41 candidates in total.

“I have decided to run for mayor of the city of Los Angeles. The city gave me and my husband so much. Opportunities beyond what we could have ever hoped for. But today. I fear that the city is no longer a place of opportunity for too many. Los Angeles is at a breaking point, and people can feel it in the most basic ways,” Raman said in a statement. “Los Angeles needs a mayor who will take responsibility for the whole system, who will demand accountability from departments, who will prepare for emergencies before they happen, who will communicate honestly when things go wrong and who will fix what fails.”

Bass’ campaign advisor Douglas Herman responded to Raman entering the race.

“The last thing Los Angeles needs is a politician who opposed cleaning up homeless encampments and efforts to make our city safer,” Herman said. “Mayor Bass will continue changing L.A. by building on her track record delivering L.A.‘s first sustained decrease in street homelessness, a 60-year low in homicides and the most aggressive agenda our city has ever seen to make our city more affordable.”

Bass and Raman are perhaps the most recognizable names in a sizable field of candidates running for mayor that also includes reality television personality Spencer Pratt, who lost his home in the Palisades fire; pastor and housing advocate Rae Chen Huang, L.A. city engineering manager Asaad Alnajjar, and nonprofit executive and entrepreneur Adam Miller. The full list of the 41 mayoral candidates is available at clerk.lacity.gov/elections/municipal-elections.

Notable candidates who had announced they were running or were considering running for mayor and did not enter the race include former LAUSD superintendent and businessman Austin Beutner, who announced on Feb. 5 that he was dropping out due to the recent death of his daughter, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath, 3rd District, who announced on Feb. 6 that she plans to remain focused on her work with the county. Businessman Rick Caruso, who announced in January that he would not enter the mayoral race, briefly reconsidered and then ultimately decided against a run on Feb. 6.

Candidates will face each other in the June 2 Primary Election. If no candidate receives 50% or more of the vote in June, the top two candidates who receive the most votes will face each other in the Nov. 3 General Election.

In the 2026 races for City Council, incumbent Katy Yaroslavsky is running in the 5th District, and incumbent Hugo Soto-Martinez is running in the 13th District. The 5th District candidate field has seven candidates including Yaroslavsky, community leader Eddi Ha, tenant rights attorney Henry Mantel, publicist and community activist Dory Frank, community influencer Ashkan “Alex” Nazarian, L.A. city employee Peter Gerard Kearns and Small Business Accountant Morgan Oyler.

In the 13th District, Soto-Martinez faces urban community planner Rich Sarian, housing advocate Dylan Kendall, East Hollywood Neighborhood Councilmember Colter Carlisle, retired military service member Gilbert Vitela Jr., community safety advocate Sebastian Davis, creative director Kristen L. Suszek and neighborhood improvement advocate Gregory G. Downer.

“This campaign is rooted in the belief that when we listen to our communities, we all win. In just three years, we’ve expanded unarmed crisis response, protected vulnerable families from eviction and taken on the systemic injustices that make Los Angeles unaffordable,” Soto-Martinez said. “Now, we’re fighting to keep building a city that works for the people who live and work here.”

Two candidates are running in the race for L.A. city controller. Incumbent Kenneth Mejia faces Zach Sokoloff, a financial accounting executive with Hackman Capital Partners, which owns Television City in the Fairfax District and other major studios.

In the race for city attorney, incumbent Hydee Feldstein Soto faces deputy attorney general Marissa Roy, deputy district attorney John McKinney and human rights attorney Aida Ashouri.

Information about the 2026 Los Angeles Municipal election, including information about the candidates and how to vote, can be found at clerk.lacity.gov. Information about the candidates is also available on the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission website at ethics.lacity.gov.

Voters will head to the polls for the L.A. mayoral primary on June 2. (photo by Rance Collins)