In the latest developments from the Los Angeles mayoral race, Spencer Pratt’s lead over Nithya Raman has continued to diminish following Friday’s ballot update.
Councilwoman Raman made significant strides, narrowing Pratt’s lead by approximately 13,000 votes compared to Thursday’s figures.
At the forefront, Mayor Karen Bass holds a strong position with 35% of the votes. Pratt, previously at 29.35%, now stands at 28.4%, having added only 10,651 votes in the recent tally.
Raman has experienced a notable surge, increasing her share from 23.42% to 24.89% by acquiring an additional 23,115 votes. With a substantial number of ballots still awaiting counting, Raman remains a formidable contender. Currently, 71% of the mayoral votes have been processed.
Friday’s tally shows the following standings: Mayor Karen Bass at 35% with 215,868 votes, Spencer Pratt at 28.2% with 174,260 votes, and Nithya Raman at 24.9% with 153,588 votes.
“Unless an unforeseen mathematical twist occurs, today’s results indicate that Nithya Raman is poised to advance to the runoff,” remarked Michael Trujillo, a veteran political strategist, to The California Post.
“The larger question people should start asking is whether Los Angeles wants a Democratic Socialists of America-backed controller, city attorney and mayor. Is the city ready for that level of influence from a single political movement?,” he added.
“One factor to watch is the late vote. Younger voters have tended to cast their ballots later for decades, and DSA-backed candidates have been particularly effective at organizing and turning out that demographic. As additional ballots are counted, that will continue to influence the outcome,” he said.
Political strategist Rick Taylor wasn’t so sure the latest drop spelled doom for Pratt.
“No one knows. We’re all playing second guessers right now without having all the ballots,” said Taylor. “If I were on the Raman team, I’d feel good today. I wouldn’t feel confident yet.”
Taylor said Raman’s ability to outperform Pratt by more than two-to-one in the latest batch of ballots was a significant development.
“When you outperform your opponent two to one, that’s a huge pickup,” Taylor said.
The statewide governor’s race saw former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra overtake Republican Steve Hilton for the top spot … Becerra is now projected to advance to the November runoff election.
Becerra climbed to 26.6% of the vote, while Hilton had 26.4% — leaving the two separated by just a fraction of a percentage point. Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer remained in third place with 21.01%.
With hundreds of thousands of ballots still left to count statewide, the governor’s race remains too close to call between Steyer and Hilton, and could see additional shifts in the days ahead.
Friday results (5:30 p.m. pt): Xavier Becerra 26.7% (1,698,049), Steve Hilton 26.3% (1,673,564), Tom Steyer 21% (1,334,592).
The slow pace of California’s ballot count is drawing the attention of federal authorities.
U.S. Attorney Robert Renner toured Los Angeles County’s ballot processing facility Friday amid growing questions about the speed of ballot processing and a backlog that continues to leave hundreds of thousands of ballots outstanding.
Earlier Friday, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced that his office is pursuing several election-fraud investigations in coordination with the FBI and the Department of Justice as scrutiny intensifies over California’s prolonged vote count.
Renner’s visit followed exclusive reporting by The Post, which toured the county’s 144,000-square-foot ballot processing facility Thursday and found large sections of the operation sitting unused despite the substantial backlog.
Taylor said the prolonged ballot count raises larger questions about whether California’s election system is achieving the goals policymakers intended when they expanded vote-by-mail voting.
“What are we going to do to make elections better?” Taylor told The Post. “Has vote-by-mail turned out more voters, or has it just become a lengthier, more complicated process? Is there a middle ground where people can still vote easily and we get results in a timely fashion?”
Another election result is expected on Saturday between 4-5:00 p.m.
