Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass outraised her challenger, Councilmember Nithya Raman, by more than $300,000 in the first fundraising period of the general election, new campaign finance reports show.
The mayor took in more than $510,000 in June, which her campaign said was the most they had raised in a single month throughout her campaign for reelection. Raman raised just over $170,000 in the same reporting period, which covers contributions through June 30 and were filed late Friday.
The mayor’s campaign also said that Bass qualified for more than $675,000 in publicly funded matching funds from the city, bringing her total to more than $1.1 million raised in June. Raman’s team received more than $500,000 in matching funds in the period. Bass’ team said she had qualified for about $576,000 in matching funds, making her total just under $750,000.
“It’s no accident that June was our strongest month of the entire campaign. It shows that Angelenos understand the stakes of this election and are fully invested in winning this race in November,” the mayor said in a statement.
Bass and Raman emerged as the top two vote-getters in the city’s June 2 mayoral primary, setting up the Nov. 3 general election runoff. Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt was in second place on election night, but Raman gained as mail-in ballots were counted and was declared the second-place finisher by the Associated Press on June 8.
Bass advanced to the Nov. 3 runoff after taking first place in the June 2 primary, winning about 34% of the vote in the primary. Raman secured the second spot with 29%. Pratt got about 26%.
In a statement Friday, Raman said that much of Bass’ financial support comes from vested interests. Bass has obtained financial support from companies including Airbnb and Douglas Emmett Properties.
“Corporate landlords and other powerful interests are spending record sums to preserve the status quo,” Raman said in the statement, referring to millions in independent expenditures spent during the mayoral primary in support of Bass.
“But Los Angeles is not for sale — and our grassroots campaign, powered by thousands of small-dollar donors, will continue to ramp up to deliver the change Angelenos are demanding.”
Then Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt speaking to the media June 2 outside of a election night party at Don Antonio’s Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
Bass’ fundraising haul came from celebrities, politicians and business leaders.
Director J.J. Abrams gave the maximum $1,800, as did Debra Lee, the former chairman and CEO of BET, the parent company of Black Entertainment Television.
L.A. City Councilmembers Imelda Padilla and Heather Hutt also contributed, though in smaller denominations. Hutt gave $500 and Padilla gave $100.
On Raman’s side, some contributors came from the left flank of Los Angeles while others were more establishment.
She took in the maximum from Rick Cole, a former aide to City Controller Kenneth Mejia who serves as a council member in Pasadena and has been actively supporting Raman’s campaign.
Raman also picked up a donation from former City Controller Laura Chick, who gained a reputation as a sharp critic of the status quo during her time at City Hall.
She also raised $100 from Jillian Burgos, who ran for L.A. City Council endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, but lost.
The funds raised by the campaigns will be critical for spending on television and social media ads, direct mailers to houses and apartments and other campaign essentials.
Candidates cannot use funds they raised in the primary to pay for general election expenditures.
In the primary, Bass raised more than $3.2 million, while Raman raised just under $1 million. Both received the maximum amount of matching funds, $1,257,000, during the primary.
Bass had much longer to fundraise. The mayor announced her reelection bid in July 2024, while Raman joined the race on the filing deadline in February of this year.
The mayor was also heavily favored by independent expenditure groups, which are required to be unafilliated with the campaigns, that spent more than $2.5 million in support of Bass. Independent expenditure groups also spent $1.2 million opposing Raman, while only $88,000 was spent in support of Raman.
Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.
