LOS ANGELES (AP) — Several days following California’s primary election, Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt continue awaiting results to determine which candidate will advance to November’s Los Angeles mayoral runoff against current mayor Karen Bass.
Election officials had not yet declared a winner by Sunday, with vote tallies showing Raman climbing to second position behind Bass for the first time since Tuesday’s conclusion of voting and start of counting. This development places Raman, who serves as a progressive member of the city council, in front of Pratt, who previously appeared on the reality show “The Hills.”
Previously holding third position, Raman has consistently increased her vote total compared to Pratt with each update released by Los Angeles election officials since Tuesday.
California’s ballot counting process moves at a notably slow pace due to state regulations that effectively require an extended tallying period. Every qualified voter receives a mailed ballot, and these are tallied if postmarked by Election Day and delivered to election offices within one week.
Los Angeles and other California counties handle and tally mail-in ballots approximately in the sequence they arrive, meaning the final submissions received are processed last.
Following Tuesday’s poll closure, Los Angeles announced results from early-returned and pre-processed mail ballots along with same-day voting totals. Subsequently, the county has been handling and announcing results from mail ballots that came in later.
Voting data indicates substantial numbers of Democratic voters retained their mail ballots before submitting them during the campaign’s closing days, which accounts for Bass and Raman performing better than Pratt in ballots tallied since primary day.
The mayoral contest operates on a nonpartisan basis, meaning no party labels appeared beside candidate names on ballots. Both Raman and Bass are Democrats, whereas Pratt is a Republican.
During election night, Bass maintained a 4.4 percentage point advantage over Pratt, who held an 8.1-point margin over Raman. Since that time, Bass’s margin over Pratt has expanded to nearly 8 points while Raman currently leads Pratt by approximately 0.4 points, representing 3,100 votes. The Associated Press calculates that slightly under 150,000 ballots remain to be processed.
The extended counting period has generated unsubstantiated fraud allegations from certain Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who announced his Department of Justice would conduct an investigation.
The president claimed that California Democrats were manipulating results to eliminate two candidates he supports — Pratt and Republican Steve Hilton in the gubernatorial race — from the top two positions, thereby preventing their participation in November’s general election. Democrat Xavier Becerra has secured advancement to the general election in the governor’s race, but The AP has not determined the second position. Hilton maintains a 4.3-point lead over Democrat Tom Steyer for the second advancement spot, though his margin has decreased by nearly half since election night.
Los Angeles’s general election will likely serve as an evaluation of Bass’s leadership whether she competes against Raman or Pratt. However, the two potential opponents would approach the campaign from distinctly different angles.
Pratt, representing conservative viewpoints, would present a more forceful opposition to liberal policies in the Democrat-controlled city. He has emphasized homeless reduction as a central campaign issue and has strongly criticized Bass’s handling of the January 2025 Pacific Palisades wildfire that destroyed his residence and thousands of other homes. His celebrity status has generated significant attention for his candidacy, though it remains uncertain whether this publicity will produce sufficient votes for runoff qualification.
Raman, conversely, is challenging Bass from a more progressive stance. She has committed to accelerating housing development, restoring entertainment industry employment, and enhancing services in a city recognized for unclean streets and damaged roadways. She won her council seat with support from the Democratic Socialists of America, although the organization has not formally endorsed any mayoral candidate. Her late entry into the race surprised many after she had previously endorsed Bass for reelection.
