On Monday, Spencer Pratt was removed from the race for mayor of Los Angeles as Nitya Raman received another boost in votes.
Raman, a far-left politician, will compete against Karen Bass in a runoff this November after securing a win last week.
The latest count added 33,378 votes to Raman’s tally overnight. In contrast, Pratt garnered only 14,672 votes, while Bass increased her total by 25,121.
At present, Raman holds 28.5% of the vote, Pratt has 26.7%, and Bass is leading with 34.7%, with 93% of the votes counted.
Pratt’s ambitious attempt for the mayoral position has ended, garnering significant support from people, especially after his home was damaged in the Palisades fire.
“For too long, City Hall has favored powerful interest groups over everyday citizens,” Raman stated. “Working individuals are suffering from high rents, reduced services, and a city that no longer serves them.”
In response to the results, Mayor Bass’s spokesperson, Douglas Herman, criticized Raman, claiming, “Mayor Bass is among those mayors we anticipate defeating in our campaign against Nitya Raman, who supports allowing encampments near schools and reducing police staffing.”
Earlier in the day, Pratt expressed a hopeful message to his supporters. He posted on X, saying, “We’re only a few percentage points apart. Hundreds of thousands of votes remain uncounted, and the LA officials have given us three weeks to sort through everything! Let’s keep it going!”
While Pratt hasn’t addressed Monday night’s results yet, earlier he was spotted enjoying frozen yogurt with his sons in Carpinteria, wearing a “Heidi Wood” T-shirt and a “Let It Burn” hat.
The delays and confusion regarding vote counting have sparked criticism of California’s election procedures, which can take weeks to finalize results. This is due to California laws requiring ballots to be postmarked by Election Day, leaving voters unaware of the outstanding votes until days later.
Former President Donald Trump has alleged that California’s election was “distorted,” and recently, federal prosecutors were dispatched to a ballot processing center in Los Angeles County. He claimed that the primary election in California was under investigation by the Department of Justice.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Registrar’s Office emphasized, “California law focuses on counting all valid ballots, rather than just the quickest ones.”
In the gubernatorial race, Monday’s election update showed a change in Alameda County, where the gap between Steve Hilton and Tom Steyer narrowed to approximately 200,000 votes. Democrat Xavier Becerra will move forward to the November general election. Steyer, who finished third, stated he would wait until all votes were counted.
