Republicans are on the warpath following late ballot surges in the race for mayor of Los Angeles.
Now, a new ballot dump has elevated both left-wing Democrats over right-leaning candidate Spencer Pratt, though he was the top vote-getter the day after last Tuesday’s primary.
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Socialist Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman, who finished third in the primary on Tuesday and had thought she was out of contention – the two top finishers advance to the fall election – has benefited the most from late-ballot surges.
She is now in second place behind incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, with Pratt on the outside looking in at third place.
“Pratt, a Republican, had led earlier in the day, but the latest tally now shows Raman, a Democrat, ahead by more than 3,000 votes, or about 0.4 percentage points, in the officially nonpartisan mayoral race,” Fox News reported, citing The Associated Press’s vote tallies.
The AP has yet to call the race, however.
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California’s election system allows ballots to arrive up to seven days after polls close, provided they are postmarked on election day.
Republicans are furious and are crying foul.
“A magical late mail performance for Raman. Shocker. THEY DID IT RIGHT IN FRONT OF US! Outlaw election month, outlaw late mail in ballots, and require universal voter ID and citizenship!” Florida’s Voice chief content officer Eric Daugherty wrote on the X platform.
“The California primary ended on June 2, 2026; yet California is still counting ballots,” the RNC website tracker counting the seconds since polls closed said as of late Sunday.
“The state’s election system is a complete joke. The RNC is tracking every hour it takes California to finish the count,” it added.
Pratt and other Republicans have continued to criticize the prolonged ballot-counting process, arguing that voters deserve faster election results and greater transparency as outstanding ballots continue to be tabulated days after Election Day, Fox noted.
“The question to the rest of the world is what happened to California elections? Well, I’ll tell you, it’s Gavin Newsom,” former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
🚨 BREAKING: NITHYA RAMAN OVERTAKES SPENCER PRATT FOR LA MAYOR, *strongly* wins late mail-in drop
RAMAN ADVANCES to runoff against Karen Bass, Pratt is locked out — VoteHub
Just WOW. UNBELIEVABLE!!
LA MAIL DROP tonight:
🔵 Nithya Raman: 19,096 (39.9%) ‼️
🔵 Karen Bass: 15,691… pic.twitter.com/cgaHTTbz4S— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 8, 2026
“When Gavin Newsom was elected governor of California, you knew who was elected in a day to two days. Now it takes more than weeks, almost a month,” he continued.
“Why did we get here?” McCarthy continued. “Gavin changed a number of election laws in which you want to see is what did he do and why did he cause it?”
“The question to the rest of the world is what happened to California elections? Well, I’ll tell you, it’s Gavin Newsom,” McCarthy told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “When Gavin Newsom was elected governor of California, you knew who was elected in a day to two days. Now it takes more than weeks, almost a month.”
“Why did we get here?” McCarthy continued. “Gavin changed a number of election laws in which you want to see is what did he do and why did he cause it?”
President Donald Trump on Thursday accused “Dumocrats” of stealing California’s elections amid delayed vote counts and said that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the situation.
Trump made his comments while the state counted the votes from Tuesday’s jungle primaries for California governor and Los Angeles mayor.
“There’s BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California. Votes are all tied up. May not be in for weeks. Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Why the vote counting DELAY???” Trump posted.
“Look what’s happening in California, the Dumocrats, right before our very eyes, are stealing the Vote. I hope the Republicans are watching so that they can finally pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT!” Trump posted Thursday afternoon.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
