Los Angeles Mayoral Race Tightens

On Thursday, the competition in the Los Angeles mayoral race became more intense as Spencer Pratt, a former reality star, closed the gap with City Councilman Nithya Raman. Meanwhile, in the gubernatorial contest, Republican Steve Hilton lagged behind Democrat Tom Steyer.

The recent Los Angeles wildfires have added weight to California’s elections, turning them into a crucial test for progressive leadership moving forward.

Pratt, a Republican, is significantly trailing Democratic incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, who has already gathered enough votes to progress to the general election in November. As of the latest counts, Bass received 163,549 votes.

In the latest tallies, Pratt is around six percentage points ahead of Raman, who garnered 130,473 votes, according to results released by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder. Interestingly, an archived vote tally indicated that Raman had received over 10,000 more votes than Pratt, who had just under 6,000 in that previous count.

Primary Challenge Against Bass

In a notable move, the Los Angeles City Council member is challenging Bass, who has previously received endorsements from the Democratic Socialists of America.

In the gubernatorial race, billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer is leading by a considerable margin against Steve Hilton, the Republican contender. The recent counts have shown Steyer’s support surge, collecting around 24,000 votes, which is almost double Hilton’s total of 12,309.

Focus on Front-Runner Becerra

Both candidates are keenly eyeing front-runner Xavier Becerra, who served as the Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Biden. The latest figures from the registrar’s office show Becerra’s vote count rising from 390,154 to 418,130.

Similar to the mayoral election dynamics, a runoff election for the gubernatorial race will take place in November if no candidate secures more than 50% of the votes.

Long Wait for Counting Results

Polls in California closed on June 2, yet the final results may take weeks to finalize. For instance, the state did not announce the conclusive results of the 2024 elections until December, after certification by Secretary of State Shirley Weber.

In recognition of delays, a bipartisan bill was introduced in 2025, mandating that certain votes be counted within 13 days. Notably, California leads the nation in mail-in ballots, with 81% of voters opting for this method in 2024, nearly double the national average of 43%, as per U.S. Census data.