Los Angeles Mayoral Race Tightens
Spencer Pratt’s lead in the Los Angeles mayoral race has diminished significantly, with new ballot counts favoring progressive City Council member Nitya Raman. Recent results released on Saturday revealed that Pratt’s advantage over Raman had shrunk to just 7,494 votes, a dramatic drop from over 20,000 votes the previous day. Approximately 78% of the ballots were counted by Saturday.
According to the latest tally, Raman garnered 23,514 votes, more than double Pratt’s 10,336. Her vote share increased from 24.9% to 26.2%, while Pratt’s share declined from 28.2% to 27.3%. This shift introduces new uncertainty into what seemed like a clear trajectory for the former reality TV star toward a November runoff.
Just days prior, Pratt seemed to hold a solid lead over Raman and appeared well-positioned to challenge incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in November. Current standings reveal Bass in first place with 235,180 votes (34.8%), followed by Pratt at 184,596 votes, with Raman now closely behind at 177,102.
The latest update indicates that Pratt’s lead has been narrowed by 13,178 votes in just one day. As of Saturday, the difference between Pratt and Raman is now less than 7,500 votes.
This surprising outcome comes as Los Angeles County continues to process remaining ballots. Political analysts have noted that ballots counted later are often skewed towards younger, more progressive voters, which make up Raman’s main support base.
Longtime strategist Michael Trujillo remarked on Saturday that these trends may point toward Raman’s potential participation in a runoff. “Barring any mathematical surprises, today’s results suggest that Nithya Raman will remain in the runoff,” he stated.
If this unfolds, Trujillo mentioned that Pratt’s supporters would be faced with challenging decisions in November. “At that point, Pratt voters will have to decide whether to back Mayor Karen Bass, who has the support of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, or Nithya Raman,” he explained.
The latest updates from the mayoral race coincided with relatively limited activity in the gubernatorial contest. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra continues to lead with 1,732,755 votes (26.8%), closely followed by Republican Steve Hilton at 1,704,821 votes (26.4%). Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer remains in third place with 1,361,549 votes (21.0%), showing little change from Friday’s results and not posing a major challenge to Hilton for a spot in the November runoff.
