Three days after Los Angeles voters cast their ballots, election officials still have not called the race for second place in the city’s mayoral primary, despite Spencer Pratt maintaining a sizable lead over his nearest challenger.
Pratt, the reality television star and independent candidate, finished Election Night with 30.4 percent of the vote.
Pratt is well ahead of progressive City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who trailed at 22.3 percent.
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Yet despite an eight-point gap and hundreds of thousands of ballots already counted, officials and media outlets continue describing the race as too close to call.
As additional ballots have been processed, Pratt’s lead has narrowed somewhat, though he remains comfortably ahead.
The latest vote update shows Pratt at 29.4 percent compared to Raman’s 23.4 percent, leaving him with a six-point advantage.
Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass remains in first place with roughly 35 percent of the vote and is all but certain to advance to the November runoff.
The battle now centers on whether Raman can somehow erase Pratt’s substantial lead and capture the second runoff spot.
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Election officials say hundreds of thousands of ballots may still remain uncounted. Based on historical voting patterns, many analysts expect those ballots to lean more Democratic than the votes counted thus far.
That possibility has fueled speculation that Raman could eventually catch Pratt.
But even supporters of that theory acknowledge there is no guarantee current trends will continue.
The remaining ballots are expected to come from a variety of voting methods and geographic regions that could produce significantly different results than what has been seen so far.
Los Angeles County officials have not provided a firm estimate for how many ballots remain within city limits.
What is clear is that vote counting is expected to continue for days.
Additional ballot reports are scheduled daily through at least June 12, while ballots postmarked by Election Day can still be accepted if they arrive by June 9.
The prolonged counting process has drawn criticism from President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly questioned California’s election system.
In a series of social media posts, Trump blasted the state’s handling of ballot counting.
“Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of MAIL IN BALLOTS,” Trump wrote.
In another post, he accused Democrats of “trying to steal” both the governor’s race and the Los Angeles mayoral contest.
Trump later added, “Look what’s happening in California, the Dumocrats, right before our very eyes, are stealing the Vote.”
The president did not provide evidence to support those claims.
California officials and Democrats quickly pushed back.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office responded on social media by saying, “Trump is lying about California again.”
Election officials note that California’s voting system allows every registered voter to receive a ballot by mail. Ballots returned through the mail are counted if they are postmarked on or before Election Day and arrive within the legally established deadline.
Officials also point out that signature verification requirements and ballot curing procedures extend the counting timeline.
Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page argued that modern counting procedures are actually faster than previous election systems.
Meanwhile, Pratt has remained publicly optimistic.
When asked about the race, a representative for Pratt pointed reporters toward a simple message the candidate posted on X.
“God always wins.”
For now, Pratt remains in second place and continues to hold a meaningful lead over Raman, The Associated Press reported.
Despite that advantage, Los Angeles voters are still waiting for election officials to determine whether the race is truly close enough to warrant days or even weeks of additional uncertainty.
Three days after Election Day, one thing remains certain: Spencer Pratt is still ahead, and the race still has not been called.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
