Raman, Bass tied heading into Los Angeles mayoral election, new poll shows

With less than a week before the Los Angeles mayoral election, Mayor Karen Bass has overcome a double-digit deficit and is in a neck-and-neck matchup with Councilmember Nithya Raman, according to a new poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and the LA Times.

Pollsters placed Raman and Bass at a tie, each with 40% support among likely voters. The survey showed that the number of undecided voters has dropped from 33% in late September to 19% just days before the November general election. 

In late September, the same pollsters showed 39% of likely voters backing Raman, compared to Bass' 28%. Bass celebrated the evaporation of Raman's double-digit lead on Wednesday during a press conference outside City Hall. 

"It's been what I have been feeling out here," Bass said. "I have been talking to voters from morning to night, seven days a week. I have not stopped. And as I am out there, to me it's become clearer and clearer that voters are concerned."

Raman appeared to downplay the new poll's findings during her own news conference in Santa Monica.

"The mayor of Los Angeles is tied with a council member who entered this race on the very last day," she said. "The mayor is in the political fight for her life and so are the corporations backing her."

Mark DiCamillo, director of the Berkeley IGS poll, said the findings indicate that candidate Spencer Pratt's primary voters have shifted their support to Bass. 

"There's a 27-point advantage for Bass among those who voted for Pratt in the primary," he said. 

While Bass had an edge among Pratt voters in the September poll, the survey showed that 63% weren't sure who they would vote for. 

Roughly a month later, Bass appeared to capture a larger share of Pratt voters, at 41%, up from her previous 22%. In contrast, Raman had a slight drop among Pratt supporters, falling from 16% in September to 14% in October. However, the new poll showed that a large contingent, 45%, remained undecided on the candidates.

Berkeley IGS said the poll's margin of error is about three percentage points. Pollsters said that voters' top concerns leading into the November election were homelessness, public safety and housing costs.