Los Angeles homelessness crisis becomes central fight in Bass-Raman mayoral race

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No issue has dominated the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral race more than homelessness, with more than 43,000 people living without housing in the city.

The crisis has emerged as the defining issue in the high-profile contest between Mayor Karen Bass (D) and Councilwoman Nithya Raman as they battle for control of City Hall. Both have spent years at the forefront of the issue, yet each blames the other for the city’s lack of meaningful progress.

When Bass took office in December 2022, she declared a state of emergency on homelessness and launched her signature Inside Safe initiative, prioritizing the rapid movement of people from encampments into interim housing, primarily hotel and motel rooms. The long-term goal was to transition participants into permanent housing.

A man in a wheelchair is hunched over in a zombie-like state in downtown Los Angeles, June 2, 2026. (Barnini Chakraborty/Washington Examiner)

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Since then, Los Angeles has spent more than $300 million on the program, clearing hundreds of encampments and moving roughly 5,800 people indoors. Bass, now locked in a heated race with Raman, has credited Inside Safe with helping reduce street homelessness by 17.5% since she took office.

The program, however, has faced increasing scrutiny over both its cost and long-term effectiveness.

As Inside Safe has evolved, a growing share of participants have returned to unsheltered homelessness, according to monthly dashboards released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and analyzed by the Los Angeles Times. By the program’s third anniversary in December, roughly 40% of participants had returned to living on the streets, underscoring the difficulty of moving people from temporary shelter into permanent housing.

Raman, once an ally of Bass, has championed a different approach, arguing Los Angeles should continue investing in permanent housing, supportive services, and individualized case management rather than relying primarily on encampment sweeps. She has said her office has helped move people indoors by assessing each person’s needs before connecting them with housing and services.

Despite billions of dollars spent over the past decade, visible homelessness remains one of Los Angeles’ most persistent challenges, leaving voters to decide whether either candidate has delivered meaningful results.

The issue has come to define city politics. Successive administrations have promised progress while pouring billions into shelters, outreach programs, and permanent housing, yet sprawling encampments continue to shape residents’ perceptions of whether City Hall is succeeding.

Rows of tents on the sidewalk in downtown Los Angeles, June 2, 2026. (Barnini Chakraborty/Washington Examiner)

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Ahead of November’s election, Bass must defend her administration’s record. Raman also faces questions about her own role in shaping the city’s homelessness policies as chair of the City Council committee overseeing housing and homelessness, which makes it difficult for her to campaign as an agent of change, Los Angeles-based political strategist Matt Klink told the Washington Examiner.

That tension between official data and public perception may ultimately determine the election.

Although data show street homelessness has declined since Bass took office, many Angelenos say they continue to encounter tents, untreated mental illness, drug addiction, and street disorder in their daily lives.

The disconnect is difficult to ignore in parts of downtown Los Angeles.

The smell of urine, alcohol, and garbage hangs in the air. Tarp-covered tents line sidewalks beside shopping carts, broken furniture, and piles of discarded belongings. People who appear to be struggling with mental illness or addiction wander through intersections, while others in wheelchairs rock back and forth or struggle against their restraints. Some shout at unseen figures. Residents and business owners say aggressive behavior, open drug use, and sprawling encampments remain part of daily life despite repeated promises that conditions are improving.

“The political problem for Mayor Bass is that voters don’t experience homelessness as a spreadsheet,” Klink said. “They experience it walking to get coffee, taking kids to school, or passing tents on the freeway. The problem is still ever-present across the city. …Karen Bass has found out that combating homelessness is where campaign promises go to die in Los Angeles. She owns the current conditions because she’s the mayor.”

Los Angeles-based political pundit Jamie E. Wright agrees.

“The Mayor will bear the greatest responsibility,” she told the Washington Examiner. “As the sitting mayor, Inside Safe is a major component of her administration. While she will be able to reference individuals that were moved into indoor living spaces, voters will also expect to hear details regarding whether these placements remained stable over time and if Inside Safe was successful in changing the overall condition of the city in a positive manner.”

Raman can’t hide from her record

Raman, however, faces a different political challenge.

“Nithya Raman can’t run as an outsider,” Klink said. “She isn’t a protest candidate. She’s a sitting councilmember who has been part of the governing coalition that produced today’s results.”

An unidentified person laying on the sidewalk in downtown Los Angeles, June 2, 2026. (Barnini Chakraborty/Washington Examiner)

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Raman has repeatedly opposed certain encampment restrictions and removals, including measures targeting camps near schools and child care facilities. Bass has argued that those votes allowed unsafe conditions to persist and criticized Raman for prioritizing policy changes over immediate action.

Raman’s critics say her emphasis on long-term solutions, voluntary outreach, and systemic reforms has failed to produce faster reductions in visible homelessness. They argue that her approach has moved too slowly to address the day-to-day concerns of residents and business owners, while pointing to continued barriers in expanding temporary shelter and other short-term interventions.

During a particularly feisty exchange in one of the primary debates, candidate Spencer Pratt painted Raman as a candidate who had no grip on the reality of the homelessness and drug addiction crisis.

“I will go below the Harbor Freeway tomorrow with her, and we can find some of those people she’s going to offer treatment for. … She’s going to get stabbed in the neck,” Pratt said in May. “These people do not want a bed. They want fentanyl or supermeth.”

Republican strategist Jeff Burton argued that many voters may ultimately conclude there is little difference between the two candidates on homelessness.

“Trying to find the difference between Karen Bass and Nithya Raman on homelessness is like trying to tell Tweedle Dee from Tweedle Dum,” Burton told the Washington Examiner. “One runs City Hall. The other has been a leading voice on the city’s homelessness policies. Both have had years to solve the problem and have failed. In the end, voters may simply decide which candidate has failed less.”

Klink said the election could ultimately hinge on how voters frame the contest.

“If Los Angeles voters make November a referendum on Bass’ management, the mayor has the bigger problem,” he said. “If it becomes a referendum on the governing philosophy that has driven the city’s homelessness policies, then Raman has the bigger problem.”

California Policy Center Vice President of Government Affairs and Education Policy Lance Christensen was even more critical, arguing that both candidates remain committed to policies that have consumed billions of taxpayer dollars without producing results that many residents recognize in their neighborhoods.

The issue also reshaped the first round of voting. Pratt, who captured 25.5% of the vote in the June primary, relentlessly focused on homelessness and public safety in his campaign, keeping a harsh spotlight on the city leadership’s handling of the crisis. Pratt advocated for curtailing funding for nonprofit organizations aimed at reducing homelessness and reallocating those dollars to the Los Angeles Police Department. He also proposed involuntary psychiatric holds for homeless individuals, which came with legal issues.

SPENCER PRATT SAYS HE HAS INCRIMINATING FOOTAGE OF KAREN BASS OR NITHYA RAMAN

Political experts told the Washington Examiner that where Pratt’s voters ultimately land, whether with Bass, Raman, or by staying home, could help determine the outcome of the November election.

It has been four years since Bass declared a state of emergency on homelessness and more than a decade of record spending by city and county leaders. Los Angeles voters face a question that goes beyond campaign slogans and competing policy plans: Do they believe the city is cleaner, safer, and more functional than it was four years ago? Their answer may determine whether Bass wins a second term or Raman takes over City Hall.