washington, June 10 -- Indian-American Nithya Raman, 44, narrowly clinched a place in the November run-off for mayor of Los Angeles (LA), the second-largest US city, on Monday, edging out her Republican rival for the chance to challenge incumbent mayor Karen Bass. Raman, a former urban planner running as a Democrat, initially trailed Republican Spencer Pratt by over 40,000 before gaining ground as more votes were counted on Sunday and Monday. Should Raman win the November run-off, Indian-American politicians will run two of the largest US cities, New York and LA. Zohran Mamdani pulled off a major election upset to win over New Yorkers last November. In a post on X, Raman wrote she is incredibly honoured that voters have given her the opportunity to advance to the general election for LA mayor. "To the thousands of supporters who knocked doors, made calls, sent texts, donated, and opened their homes for events across the city, and to everyone else who made this moment possible: thank you, from the bottom of my heart," she said in a post on X. Raman promised to change the "broken status quo" and pointed to depleted services, higher rents, and the political power of special interest groups as key problems facing LA, home to around four million people. She has promised to expand access to affordable housing, protection for renters, and to end homelessness. Born to immigrants from Kerala, Raman has degrees in urban planning from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)....