Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman have secured spots in a November runoff after Raman overtook Spencer Pratt in the mayoral primary vote count.
With 83% of the expected vote reported, Raman had 27.1% and Pratt had 26.7%. Decision Desk HQ projected Bass at 34.68% and Raman at 27.12% with about 87% of votes in. Los Angeles still has more than 100,000 votes left to count, and because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff election in November.
Raman had previously trailed Pratt by about six percentage points but surged past him by a razor-thin margin of less than one percentage point in Sunday's update. Pratt is a registered Republican; Raman is a Democrat and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Pratt, a reality TV star, questioned the late surge in votes that were in favor of Raman on social media.
Alex Stack, Bass campaign spokesperson, said, "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."
Raman said she is "encouraged by the latest vote count and remain grateful to the thousands of Angelenos who have powered this campaign." She did not comment on the most recent numbers, but on election night she told supporters, "No one knew who I was; I was the last to enter this race. We had no institutional backing. But what we did have was a vision for Los Angeles."
The California Secretary of State says 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.