President Trump has called California’s primary election “distorted,” claiming that violence has influenced the outcome and warning of “major trouble and chaos” if Republicans are excluded from the November general election.
These remarks came on Sunday, five days post-election, as Spencer Pratt dropped to third place in the Los Angeles mayoral primary. Meanwhile, Steve Hilton is still waiting to secure a spot in the November gubernatorial race.
In a heated statement on Truth Social, Trump criticized the election: “Was anyone watching the fraudulent election taking place in California?”
“Two great Republican candidates have been misled, and so has America. If the Democrats succeed with their agenda, it will lead to chaos.” He urged people to “please look carefully at this ‘election’!!!”
Previously, Trump alleged that Democrats were trying to “steal the election” and announced plans to investigate the problematic vote count.
Five days after the polls closed, Pratt was overtaken by far-left Democrat Nitya Raman, who had visibly emotional moments while addressing her supporters as the results came in.
The prediction market Polymarket suggests Raman has a 99% chance of making it to the runoff, compared to Pratt’s mere 1%.
Raman has moved ahead, consistently receiving more votes than Pratt in updates since Tuesday. The 8.1 percentage point lead Pratt held on election night has diminished to just 0.4 percentage points.
Since the election night results, more than 43,000 votes have shifted from Pratt to Raman, and incumbent Mayor Karen Bass is already on track to win in the November runoff with 34.7% of the counted votes.
Raman’s campaign expressed that they were “encouraged” by the current standings, while Pratt reacted to reports suggesting a shift in momentum. “Over 43,000 votes changed since Tuesday… I wonder where I’ve seen that number before?” he commented, referencing a report on homelessness in Los Angeles.
California’s vote counting often stretches beyond Election Day due to the time needed for officials to verify signatures and process millions of mail-in ballots before finalizing results.
State law allows county election officials to finalize election forms up to 30 days after an election, ensuring all valid ballots are counted diligently.
Every California voter will receive a mail-in ballot, valid as long as it’s sent by Election Day and reaches election offices by June 9. Results need to be reported to the California Secretary of State by July 3, with certification a week later.
Hilton has expressed frustration over the slow vote counting, labeling it a “challenge.” “The world is laughing at our inability to count votes quickly. Where is Gavin Newsom?” he remarked.
He criticized the pace of the vote counting as indicative of state government failures and mockingly suggested that if Xavier Becerra were in charge of the Olympics, the 100 meters would take six days.
Despite the delay, Hilton claims he is “very confident” about finishing in the top two, maintaining a 4.4 percentage point lead over billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer with 72% of the vote tallied.
