Los Angeles faces a new political showdown as democratic socialist Rae Huang steps up to challenge incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the 2026 election. Huang, a 43-year-old community organizer and pastor with ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, announced her campaign over the weekend, positioning herself as an outsider ready to shake up City Hall.
“I am excited and very humbled to announce that I am running for Mayor of Los Angeles, the second largest city in our nation,” Huang posted on Instagram.
She described her decision as a calling after two decades in social justice work, adding, “After over 20 years of leaning into my call to serve God through social justice work and organizing, this path has led me in these uncertain times to take the unusual path to continue my calling by running for Mayor to finally see through the changes the LA social justice movement and I have been building for years.”
Huang’s platform centers on sweeping changes like universal housing, free public transportation, and aggressive climate policies, all aimed at tackling affordability in a city plagued by high costs. She vows to reject corporate donations and confront what she calls the “establishment and the billionaire class.”
“Over the past decade, I have worked with Los Angeles organizers and neighbors on solutions for our city. Now it’s time we implement them. I will be running against establishment and the billionaire class and will not be accepting any money from corporations,” she stated.
Her bid echoes recent victories by far-left candidates elsewhere. In New York City, Zohran Mamdani, another DSA-backed figure, clinched the mayoral race earlier this month with similar promises of government-led solutions to housing and transit woes. Seattle saw progressive activist Katie Wilson oust incumbent Bruce Harrell, pushing ideas like city-run grocery stores and steeper taxes on the wealthy. Huang sidesteps direct comparisons but eyes an endorsement from LA’s DSA chapter, which cheered Mamdani’s win.
And so it starts
One of them is as bad as the other. I can’t stand Karen Bass either.