Nithya Raman has surged into second place in the Los Angeles mayoral race, positioning herself for a potential runoff against incumbent Karen Bass.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the aftermath of California’s primary election, Nithya Raman has moved into second place in the race for Los Angeles mayor, trailing only incumbent Karen Bass. As of Sunday, the vote tally indicated that Raman, a progressive city council member, surpassed Spencer Pratt, a former reality television star known for his role on “The Hills.”
Raman had initially been in third place, but with each update from election officials, she gained more votes than Pratt. The counting process in California is notoriously slow, governed by state laws that require a meticulous tallying of ballots. All eligible voters receive mail-in ballots, which must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive at election offices within seven days to be counted.
Los Angeles, like other counties in California, processes mail ballots in the order they are received, meaning that the last ballots returned are the last to be counted. On election night, the city released results from early mail ballots and votes cast on the day of the primary. Since then, the county has continued to process and release results from later-arriving mail ballots.
Election data indicates that many Democratic voters held onto their mail ballots until the final days of the election, contributing to the stronger performance of Bass and Raman compared to Pratt. The mayoral race is nonpartisan, so candidates do not have party affiliations listed on the ballot. Both Raman and Bass are Democrats, while Pratt is a Republican.
On election night, Bass led Pratt by 4.4 percentage points, while Pratt held an 8.1-point lead over Raman. As of the latest counts, Bass’s lead over Pratt has expanded to nearly 8 points, while Raman now leads Pratt by approximately 0.4 points, equating to about 3,100 votes. The Associated Press estimates that there are still around 150,000 ballots left to be counted.
The slow counting process has led to unfounded claims of fraud from some Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, who suggested that the state’s Democrats were manipulating the election to exclude candidates he supports. Trump indicated that his Department of Justice would investigate these allegations.
In the governor’s race, Democrat Xavier Becerra has advanced to the general election, but the second slot remains uncalled. Republican Steve Hilton currently leads Democrat Tom Steyer by 4.3 points, although his lead has diminished since election night.
The general election in Los Angeles is shaping up to be a referendum on Bass’s leadership, regardless of whether she faces Raman or Pratt. However, the two candidates would approach the campaign from markedly different perspectives.
Pratt, a conservative, aims to challenge the liberal governance that dominates Los Angeles. He has made addressing homelessness a central theme of his campaign and has criticized Bass’s leadership, particularly during the January 2025 wildfires that devastated his home and many others in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood. His celebrity status has garnered significant attention, but it remains uncertain whether this will translate into sufficient voter support for a runoff.
In contrast, Raman is positioning herself as a progressive alternative to Bass. She has pledged to expedite housing construction, revive jobs in the entertainment industry, and enhance city services in a city often criticized for its neglected infrastructure. Raman was initially elected to the city council with support from the Democratic Socialists of America, although the group did not formally endorse her in the mayoral race. Her candidacy came as a surprise after she had previously endorsed Bass for reelection.
As the election progresses, the dynamics of the race will continue to evolve, with both candidates seeking to solidify their positions ahead of the November runoff.
According to The Associated Press.