Nithya Raman defeats Spencer Pratt to advance in Los Angeles mayoral race; California governor’s race results still pending

California voters are still waiting for results in the race for governor after the candidates set to face off in the general election for Los Angeles mayor were decided on Monday.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman previously faced a six-percentage-point deficit to political newcomer Spencer Pratt, but she jumped ahead of Pratt by a razor-thin margin of less than one percentage point as of Sunday’s results update. On Monday, Raman was projected to advance to the runoff by WTX US News after gaining more than 33,000 votes in the daily Los Angeles County polling update.

Last week, WTX US News projected that incumbent LA Mayor Karen Bass will advance to the runoff. 

Candidates are also still on standby in the state’s chaotic primary to succeed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is no longer eligible to hold the position after serving two terms. WTX US News projected on Friday that Xavier Becerra, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, had advanced to the general election. 

Under California’s primary system, the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of political affiliation. 

If elected, Becerra would be California’s first Latino governor since Republican Romualdo Pacheco in 1875.

Hilton remains in second place in battle for spot on November ballot

The wait to see who will face Becerra in the general election will continue through at least Tuesday, with little movement seen over the weekend as some counties did not update results.

Republican candidate and former Fox News host Steve Hilton remained in second place through the weekend after Becerra gained enough votes on Friday to overtake him.

Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, a Democrat, gained additional ground in returns on Monday after doing so over the weekend, earning 22.4% of the vote to Hilton’s 25.1%.

As the waiting game continued, Hilton used the time to criticize California’s government.

“The snail-like pace of the vote counting process in California is just another example of the incompetence and uselessness of the state government,” Hilton said on X.

Steyer’s campaign said it’s waiting for every ballot to be counted.

“This race is still too close to call,” his campaign website said. “We’re going to wait until every ballot is counted. We’re going to give democracy time to work.”

Raman defeats Pratt in race for second candidate in LA mayoral race

Bass is no longer waiting to see who she’ll face in the November election after reality TV star Spencer Pratt’s lead over LA City Councilwoman Nithya Raman disappeared over the weekend before Raman was projected to advance on Monday.

Pratt’s election night advantage diminished with each day of polling updates from the LA County Registrar-Recorder until Sunday, when Raman overtook him by less than a percent with 83% of votes counted. His grasp on second further slipped on Monday, when the LA County Registrar-Recorder updated polling totals and showed that Raman had surged ahead once again. 

As of Monday night, Bass maintained just over 34% of votes, while Raman had 28.5% to Pratt’s 25.8%.

In a statement to WTX LA on Monday evening, Raman expressed gratitude to her supporters after she was projected to advance.

I’m incredibly honored that voters have given us the opportunity to advance to the general election for Mayor of Los Angeles,” the statement said. “To the thousands of supporters who knocked doors, made calls, sent texts, donated, and opened their homes for events across the city, and to everyone who made this moment possible: thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”

As the updated numbers rolled in, Pratt took to social media to question the late surge in votes that were in favor of Raman. On Monday morning, he told supporters to stay optimistic.

“Folks, we’re dealing with a fraction of a percentage point difference, there’s still hundreds of thousands of votes outstanding, and LA officials have given us the next 3 weeks to count,” he said. “Let’s git-r-dun!”

He has not yet commented on his defeat.

Bass, on the other hand, issued a statement through her campaign targeting Raman. 

“We look forward to winning a contest against an opponent who allows encampments near schools and fights against hiring more cops, yet is MIA on saving Hollywood jobs and fighting back when ICE invades LA,” the statement said. 

When will more California primary election results be released?

According to the California Secretary of State, counties have 30 days to count ballots on a provisional basis. Mail-in votes must be postmarked no later than Election Day, and they must be counted as long as they are received within seven days. 

Here are when some major population centers expect their next ballot drops: