Raman leads among younger voters, polls show, but Bass isn’t conceding any ground – Los Angeles Times

Raman leads among younger voters, polls show, but Bass isn’t conceding any ground  Los Angeles Times

Three high school girls all dressed in pink strut up to the outcast in red flannel and tell her what it takes to be popular. But this isn’t a clip from “Mean Girls” — it’s a campaign video for Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman. The outcast, reminiscent of Lindsay Lohan’s character in the 2004 film, explains how she doesn’t mind being a nonconformist — and then compares herself to Raman and the councilmember’s opposition to raises for Los Angeles Police Department officers. “I have no problem saying no to systems that don’t serve the people,” the girl in flannel says. “Like Nithya Raman.” The micro-drama ad, which has racked up more than 200,000 views on social media, is one way Raman is targeting younger voters in her bid to unseat Mayor Karen Bass in Tuesday’s election.

Another ad, featuring a young couple pleased with improved public transit under a Raman administration, has 400,000 views. There’s a logic to the campaign’s focus on younger voters. Raman, 45, is supported by 69% of likely voters between ages 18 and 29, compared with 15% for the 73-year-old Bass, according to the latest Berkeley IGS / Los Angeles Times poll. Among voters ages 30 to 39, the gap is even wider: 74% for Raman compared with 16% for Bass, the poll found. Part