LA mayoral candidates Bass and Raman campaign on last weekend before Election Day

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman spent Halloween locked in a grueling final-weekend sprint across Southern California, delivering competing closing arguments to voters just three days before the November 3 midterm election.

With public polls pointing to a dead heat, both candidates crisscrossed the city on Saturday, October 31, 2026, targeting union workers, community centers, and sports fans. The frantic push highlights an intense showdown where voters are weighing sharply different visions for the city’s immediate future.

Labor Rallies, Small Businesses, and Olympic Stakes

Mayor Bass kicked off her Saturday schedule at a rally for union workers before touring small businesses in Boyle Heights alongside state Sen. María Elena Durazo, nbclosangeles.com and latimes.com reported. Campaigning on her stewardship of the city, Bass emphasized that her administration is best positioned to guide Los Angeles through the preparations for hosting the 2028 Olympic Games.

“This is about affordability. It’s about safety, and it is about opportunity,” Bass said during her campaign stops. “The opportunities that are coming our way in the next two and a half years.”

Bass also zeroed in on her opponent’s track record, criticizing what she characterized as unstable policy shifts. Pointing to past debates and public statements regarding the leadership of the Los Angeles Police Department, the incumbent warned against sudden leadership changes.

“I don’t know what her position is. One minute, she’s firing the police chief. The next minute, she’s not,” Bass said, adding that the city needs stability rather than an administration willing to experiment.

Accountability, Public Transit, and Soaring Utility Bills

Councilmember Raman countered by framing the incumbent’s record as a failure across the metrics that matter most to local residents, pointing to soaring municipal costs and sluggish infrastructure progress. Raman’s weekend itinerary included speaking to hospitality union workers, judging a Halloween costume contest in Encino, and visiting a tailgate outside the LA Memorial Coliseum ahead of the USC football game against Ohio State, as reported by nbclosangeles.com.

“Under this mayor’s leadership, by every metric that matters for Angelenos, things have gotten worse in LA,” Raman told supporters, pledging to tackle homelessness alongside Supervisor Lindsey Horvath with heightened urgency and accountability.

The final weekend follows a tense final televised debate hosted by KNBC 4 and Telemundo 52, where both candidates clashed over public safety, affordable housing, and police leadership, cbsnews.com noted. Raman defended her stance on replacing LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, arguing he has lost public trust, while Bass countered that her challenger underestimates the complex national security preparations required for the upcoming Olympic Games.

Earlier in the week, Raman targeted city infrastructure management by highlighting delays and budget overruns surrounding the SkyLink airport people mover at Los Angeles International Airport, alongside criticizing rising electrical bills managed by the Department of Water and Power, according to latimes.com reporting.

Voter Priorities on Fixed Incomes

As mail-in ballots fill drop boxes and in-person lines stretch across the region, voters interviewed by nbclosangeles.com pointed to persistent cost-of-living pressures, Latino representation, and Proposition 40—often referred to as the billionaire tax—as decisive factors driving their votes.

Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, left, and her challenger, City Councilmember Nithya Raman — Photo: latimes.com

“Getting the costs down for people that can’t afford to live,” a voter named Linda told nbclosangeles.com. “It’s very difficult. I’m one of those now that have a fixed income.”

With both campaigns pushing through the weekend—Bass planning additional events and Raman scheduling church services in Boyle Heights and door-knocking in Northridge—the race heads into its final days with a significant block of voters remaining undecided.