LOS ANGELES — Shakespearean betrayal. Dramatic reversals of fortune. Breathless tabloid coverage. The Los Angeles mayor’s race, at last, has a Hollywood-worthy plotline.
Progressive upstart Nithya Raman’s bombshell decision to run against her purported ally, Mayor Karen Bass, has upended what once looked like a sluggish mayoral race. As Raman scrambles to build a campaign apparatus before the June election, Bass’ supporters have rallied around the embattled incumbent with fresh energy and barely-veiled fury.
“When an incumbent’s allies go this hard, this early, and frame the stakes this aggressively, it tells you they know they’ve got a real race on their hands,” said Jeremy Oberstein, a Los Angeles Democratic strategist…