Raman Campaign Dismisses Staffer Over Video

Nithya Raman's Los Angeles mayoral campaign cut ties with a part-time staffer after his social media video about the Michigan Senate race drew criticism.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Elections

Raman Campaign Dismisses Staffer Over Video

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Should candidates be held responsible for controversial posts made by their campaign staffers?

Nithya Raman's Los Angeles mayoral campaign said it no longer works with Eric Cheng, a part-time staffer who coordinated relationships with content creators. The campaign called comments Cheng made in a personal social media video about the Michigan Senate race "reprehensible."

Why it matters

The dispute puts a Los Angeles mayoral campaign's online staff conduct under public scrutiny ahead of local voting decisions. It also highlights how staffers' personal posts can be attributed to campaigns, prompting rival political operatives to amplify them.

The campaign announced Cheng's dismissal in a post on X, and the video was posted on his personal social media account. No vote counts, polling figures, or policy figures are involved in the reported dispute.

The players

Nithya Raman

Nithya Raman is a Los Angeles City Council member and a candidate for mayor of Los Angeles.

Karen Bass

Karen Bass is the incumbent mayor of Los Angeles.

Haley Stevens

Haley Stevens is a Democratic politician and a candidate in the Michigan Senate race.

The details

In his video, Cheng said Michigan Senate candidate Haley Stevens "tried to brainwash a lot of the black vote." Mike Trujillo, a political consultant backing incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, shared a post drawing attention to the video and criticized Raman's campaign.

Article on Cheng's dismissal and the video controversy published November 2, 2026.

Political Context

Campaigns typically distance themselves from staff remarks made in personal capacities, but rival consultants can keep such posts in circulation. Here, the dispute centers on whether a campaign's association with a part-time staffer's personal video should be treated as the campaign's own position.

For Los Angeles voters, the episode shows that a campaign's public accountability can hinge on the personal posts of its staff, which may factor into how candidates are judged. Readers evaluating mayoral candidates can weigh how each campaign responds when its people make controversial statements.

The takeaway

How a campaign responds to a staffer's controversial remarks can reveal how it handles accountability, so voters may find such responses useful when comparing candidates.