The gap between Los Angeles mayoral candidates Spencer Pratt and Nithya Raman continued to lessen on Friday as vote counts changed.
City Council member Raman saw an increase in her votes, reducing Pratt’s lead by about 13,000 following the latest counts from Thursday.
Current Mayor Karen Bass maintained her first-place position with 35% of the overall votes, whereas Pratt fell to 28.4%, a decrease from 29.35% the day before. He gained only 10,651 votes in this latest round.
Meanwhile, Raman’s count rose significantly to 23,115 votes, resulting in her percentage increasing from 23.42% to 24.89%. With hundreds of thousands of ballots still uncounted, these results suggest she remains competitive. So far, about 71% of total votes in the mayoral election have been tallied.
As of Friday, the numbers stand at: Mayor Karen Bass 35% (215,868 votes), Spencer Pratt 28.2% (174,260 votes), and Nithya Raman 24.9% (153,588 votes).
“Without any unexpected changes, it seems likely that Nithya Raman is heading for a runoff,” remarked seasoned political strategist Michael Trujillo.
He raised an interesting point about whether voters in Los Angeles are prepared for a city administration where the mayor, city attorney, and controller all align with the Democratic Socialists of America. “Is that level of influence from one political group something the city is ready for?” he questioned.
He also noted that young voters traditionally cast their ballots later, and candidates supported by the DSA have successfully mobilized this group. This factor could play a role as more ballots are counted.
Strategist Rick Taylor expressed skepticism about whether Pratt’s situation was dire. “Honestly, we can’t know right now with so many ballots still outstanding,” he remarked. “If I were on Raman’s team, I’d be feeling optimistic today, but confidence might be premature.”
According to Taylor, Raman outperforming Pratt more than two-to-one in the latest figures is significant. “Dominating your opponent like that is notable,” he said.
In another part of the political landscape, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra surpassed Republican Steve Hilton in the statewide gubernatorial race, positioning himself for a likely runoff in November.
Becerra currently holds 26.6% of the vote, with Hilton close behind at 26.4%. Billionaire Tom Steyer sits in third with 21.01%. Given the uncounted ballots, this race remains tight.
As the vote counting continues to unfold, California’s pace has garnered federal attention. U.S. Attorney Robert Renner visited a ballot processing facility in Los Angeles County amid concerns regarding delays and backlogs affecting hundreds of thousands of ballots.
This scrutiny has escalated; early on Friday, U.S. Attorney Bill Ezeiri announced collaboration with the FBI and Justice Department on various election fraud inquiries.
Renner’s visit came after an exclusive Post investigation revealed that the county’s substantial processing facility is not being utilized effectively despite the backlog.
Taylor raised concerns about the effectiveness of California’s election system, questioning whether expanding mail-in voting has resulted in greater voter turnout or merely complicated the process. “How can elections be improved?” he pondered, emphasizing the need for a balance that maintains easy voting while yielding timely results.
Additional election results are anticipated to be released on Saturday between 4 and 5 p.m.
