Ms. Raman, a progressive Democrat, surprised many allies when she entered the Los Angeles mayor’s race at the last minute.

Mayoral candidate Nithya Raman has left millions of dollars on the table to clean up a dangerous homeless encampment while she campaigns on fixing Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis. Roughly 90 people are living along the LA River in tents,

Experts predict there could be a progressive surge from late voting Democrats as vote-by-mail ballots continue to be counted over the next few days.

DON’T STOP THE COUNT — Fresh ballot drops pushed more House candidates into run-offs and drew Nithya Raman closer to Spencer Pratt in the Los Angeles mayor’s race on Wednesday, but it will be days or weeks before we have final results across the map.

Spencer Pratt has issued an impassioned rallying call to supporters to encourage their friends, family and ”even strangers” out to vote for ”change in LA” ahead of Tuesday’s mayoral election. Pratt also brutally shamed his challengers by sharing a video of a homeless man next to a ballot drop box — underscoring the role Mayor Bass and Nithya Raman have failed to solve.

Willie Gillespie is a summer intern on the video desk at the Los Angeles Times. Originally from Libertyville, Ill., he is a senior journalism major at the University of Oklahoma and works for the student newspaper, the OU Daily. You can connect with him on X @wgillespietv.