Nithya Raman, an Indian-American and current member of the Los Angeles City Council, is leading the race for the second spot in the upcoming mayoral elections set for November. According to a recent vote update, Raman received about 40% of the nearly 48,000 votes reported, surpassing her closest competitor, Spencer Pratt, by approximately 3,000 votes. Since the close of election night counting, Raman has outperformed both Karen Bass and Pratt, gaining 43,000 votes on Pratt and increasing her overall share of the vote by about 5 percentage points. The race is officially nonpartisan, although Pratt is a registered Republican while Raman campaigns as a progressive. California's election process typically involves several days of counting due to mail-in ballots, which can be accepted up to seven days after Election Day. Raman, a graduate of Harvard and MIT, previously made history in 2020 as the first Asian-American woman and first South Asian to serve on the City Council. Her tenure has focused on addressing homelessness, affordable housing, and climate change initiatives.