Raman Nears Pratt in LA Mayor Race as Vote Counting Continues
7 reported
Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman is closing in on Republican and former reality star Spencer Pratt in the race for mayor, according to Variety. With 78% of ballots counted, Raman holds 26.21% of the vote, while Pratt has 27.32%, putting her within 1% of overtaking him for second place. Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass leads with 34.81% and has secured a spot in the November runoff. Pratt has expressed frustration with the slow vote counting, posting on X an image from “A Beautiful Mind” with a caption about trying to understand how votes are counted in Los Angeles. The article notes that California’s vote processing takes longer due to the popularity of mail-in voting, with Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber reporting that roughly 13 million of 16 million votes in the 2024 presidential election were submitted by mail. Christian Grose, director of USC’s Schwarzenegger Institute, told CBS News that many ballots are still uncounted because they were mailed close to the deadline and must be postmarked by Election Day to be counted.
What’s reported
With 78% of ballots counted, Raman has 26.21% and Pratt has 27.32%.
Raman is within 1% of surpassing Pratt for second place.
Incumbent Karen Bass leads with 34.81% and has secured a spot in the November runoff.
Pratt posted on X an image from “A Beautiful Mind” with a caption about vote counting.
California’s slow vote processing is partly due to mail-in voting popularity.
Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber reported roughly 13 million of 16 million votes in the 2024 presidential election were by mail.
Christian Grose said many ballots were mailed close to the deadline and must be postmarked by Election Day.
Key figures
Nithya Raman, Los Angeles City Council member and mayoral candidate
Spencer Pratt, Republican and former reality star, mayoral candidate
Karen Bass, incumbent Los Angeles mayor
Shirley N. Weber, California Secretary of State
Christian Grose, director of USC’s Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy
Sources: Variety
