In the LA Mayor’s race, a controversial poll shows Nithya Raman ahead of Karen Bass.

City Council member Nithya Raman came out ahead of incumbent Karen Bass in a new poll on the Los Angeles Mayor’s race, although the director of research warned that it doesn’t give the whole picture.

Raman was leading the five major polls, with 33% of voters supporting him, and Bass trailing with 17%, according to a survey by the Loyola Marymount University Center for the Study of Los Angeles.

Leftist Rae Huang came in just behind Bass at about 17%, while tech executive Adam Miller had 13% and live-action TV star Spencer Pratt had 12%.

Some polls showed Bass in first place.

He was at 20% in the Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics poll, while Raman was at just over 9%. In a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, co-sponsored by The Times, Bass was at 25% and Raman at 17%.

In the Loyola Marymount poll, unlike other polls, respondents were given brief descriptions of the candidates, including their careers and political priorities.

Raman was called “a progressive LA City Council member focused on housing, homelessness and systemic reform,” while Bass was “the incumbent mayor of Los Angeles, a veteran legislator, focused on homelessness.”

One of Raman’s challenges, as a council member representing Los Feliz and Silver Lake and parts of the San Fernando Valley, is to spread his name recognition throughout the city, with the June 2 primary election nearly two months away. He entered the race to challenge Bass, his one-time colleague, at the last minute, hours before the early February filing deadline.

Loyola Marymount’s survey of 370 registered voters in Los Angeles was conducted from Feb. 11 to March 16. It did not include a choice of “undecided,” while two other polls showed that a significant percentage of voters were undecided.

“This survey shows that if only positive definitions are used and context is given, Raman is ahead,” said Fernando Guerra, director of Loyola Marymount’s Center for the Study of Los Angeles, which oversees the poll.

Guerra said he believes Bass is the front-runner, considering past polls.

The Bass campaign ran into trouble with the Loyola Marymount poll.

“In 2022, this same LMU poll had Karen Bass at 16% – she ended up winning the primary with 43%. The only thing funnier than this poll is Spencer Pratt’s performance on The Hills,” said Alex Stack, Bass campaign spokesman, referring to Pratt’s reality show.

Raman’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a post to X citing the poll, Raman wrote, “OUR CAMPAIGN GOES ON … Angelenos are ready for a city that really works.”

Paul Mitchell, vice president of the bipartisan voter data company, Political Data Inc., said the poll’s sample size was too small to draw conclusions and that the polls were less reliable because they were conducted over a month.

He also noted that since most of the candidates are anonymous, including descriptive ones can have a big impact.

“I’m sure Nithya Raman doesn’t have name recognition around town, but that description is really good,” Mitchell said.

Guerra said he did not include the “unspecified” option because he wanted to “force” respondents to give an answer, such as if they voted.

In Emerson’s election, more than 50% of voters did not know who they would support for mayor. A Berkeley IGS poll showed nearly a quarter of voters were undecided.

In the LMU mayoral poll from 2022, which was released in early March of that year, 42% of respondents chose “undecided/someone else” for mayor.

After Bass, who received 16% support, former City Councilor Kevin de Léon came second with 12% in the 2022 election. Rick Caruso, the billionaire developer, who ended up in a runoff election against Bass, received 6% support.

In that year’s June primary, Bass received 43% of the vote, Caruso received approximately 36% and De Léon received 8%.

This year’s LMU poll also asked LA voters what kind of person they would like to be elected mayor.

About 50% said they preferred a Democratic Socialist, while 25% said they wanted a moderate Democrat, 19% said a conservative and only 8% said a Democratic Alliance.

“Los Angeles is more progressive than its elected leadership. This poll shows that,” Guerra said.

Others did not agree.

Mike Trujillo, a consultant for moderate Democrats who are not representing anyone in the mayoral race, said polls he conducted across the city show that the popularity of the Democratic Socialists of America is very low.

Raman is a dues-paying member of the Los Angeles chapter of DSA, which has endorsed him in his two City Council campaigns.

“If you believe this survey, I have bridges to sell you on 1st Street, 6th Street, and Alameda Street – and there is no bridge in Alameda,” he said. “Survey was A to Z on Nithya Raman’s contact list.”

This year’s LMU poll also asked LA County voters about the governor’s race. Former US Rep. Katie Porter led with about 16%, followed by Republican Steve Hilton at 13% and billionaire Tom Steyer at 12%.

The Berkeley IGS poll showed two Republicans – Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Hilton – leading a field full of candidates with slim votes among voters statewide, with the Democratic Alliance among the most candidates in the left-leaning district.