Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman's mayoral campaign has landed in the middle of an internal Democratic Socialists of America fight after the organization's national leadership declared that her local chapter's endorsement violated the group's own rules. The Democratic Socialists of America's National Political Committee found on October 4 that DSA-LA's endorsement of Raman ran afoul of the organization's required procedures, setting off a dispute that reaches the NPC Steering Committee meeting scheduled for Monday, October 19, 2026.
The National Political Committee determined that DSA-LA violated the organization's 2025 convention resolution on endorsements, according to sor4dsa.substack.com, which wrote that “on October 4th, the National Political Committee declared DSA-LA's endorsement of Nithya Raman in violation of DSA's organizational principles and processes.” The same post states the chapter had failed to include a required question about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on its candidate questionnaire and did not properly probe Raman's position at the endorsement forum, in violation of what the post describes as National Convention Resolution 22.
Those findings have fed two resolutions scheduled for consideration at the NPC Steering Committee meeting on Monday, October 19, 2026. One would move to expel Raman from the organization if she does not align with DSA's positions and expectations on Palestine, while the other would direct DSA-LA to revoke her endorsement outright and stop using chapter or national resources on her behalf, per the same Substack account.
A Razor-Thin Vote That Started It All
DSA-LA's endorsement of Raman followed a closely contested internal election among chapter members. The Los Angeles Times reported the chapter endorsed Raman for mayor against incumbent Karen Bass, with the final tally landing at 937 votes in favor, 484 against and 52 abstentions. More than 6,000 DSA members were eligible to take part in the Los Angeles-region online election, the paper reported, though fewer than 1,500 ballots were ultimately cast.
The Los Angeles Times reported the chapter endorsed Raman on September 2. The result reopened long-simmering tensions between Raman and segments of the democratic socialist movement over her positions on Israel and Palestine.
Raman's History of Breaking With the Chapter
This is not the first time Raman's relationship with DSA-LA has grown contentious. The chapter formally censured her in February 2024 after she pursued and accepted an endorsement from Democrats for Israel–Los Angeles, though members voted at the time to keep backing her council campaign. DSA Los Angeles said in its own statement that “members ultimately decided to uphold the endorsement and censure Councilmember Raman.”```
At a candidate forum in late September, Raman told attendees that BDS was not part of her platform, saying, according to sor4dsa.substack.com, that “it's not part of my kind of focus on on the municipality.” She has disagreed with the chapter over changes to the city's mansion tax, as Politico has reported. Her campaign told that outlet it “respects the ongoing endorsement process.”
Questionnaire Answers Under Scrutiny
Raman's answers to DSA's candidate questionnaire have drawn particular attention. The Los Angeles Times reported she voiced support for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and halting police exchange programs with Israel, but declined to give a yes-or-no answer on repealing restrictions on homeless encampments near schools or on diverting law-enforcement funds to other public services. She declined to give direct yes-or-no answers on those two local policy questions.
Three other DSA-backed council members — Soto-Martínez, Jurado and Eunisses Hernandez — have endorsed Bass instead, according to the paper's reporting, even as Raman had secured DSA-LA's backing in both of her previous council campaigns.
What Comes Next for the Chapter and the Candidate
The path forward described by sor4dsa.substack.com is stark: the post argues the NPC should declare Raman's endorsement invalid and instruct DSA-LA to stop campaigning for her altogether, framing the dispute as part of a broader argument about Raman's positions on Israel and Gaza playing out within the national organization, as the Forward has also chronicled. Not every chapter faction agreed with endorsing Raman in the first place — the Groundwork caucus opposed the endorsement but said in its own statement that it would still campaign for her over Bass, writing that the group would “support the will of the chapter” once the vote was decided, according to Groundwork DSA.
Part of the friction also traces back to timing: Politico reported that Raman's late entry into the mayoral race caught DSA-LA off guard and cut against the chapter's existing strategy, which had been focused on a 2028 city attorney race and several council districts rather than this year's mayoral contest. The proposed expulsion is one of the matters before the National Political Committee. DSA-LA has separately said that its candidate endorsements are decided democratically by chapter members, and that any future mayoral endorsement would require a new petition and membership vote.
Whether either resolution considered at the Monday, October 19, 2026, meeting was adopted, and how DSA-LA might respond, remains to be seen.
