Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman has surged past reality television personality Spencer Pratt in the city’s mayoral primary, now positioned to potentially advance to a runoff election against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.
The latest vote counts show Raman in second place with 27.1% of the votes cast, narrowly ahead of Pratt, who holds 26.7%. Mayor Bass has secured 34.7% of the vote and has already been projected by the Associated Press to qualify for the November 3 runoff. Political observers note a clear trend of Raman gaining support as mail-in ballots are processed, suggesting her momentum is likely to continue.
Zev Yaroslavsky, a former councilmember and director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, stated that the dynamics of the race have shifted significantly in Raman's favor. "The trend is clear," Yaroslavsky commented. "She has been gaining on Pratt for the last three or four days. There’s no reason to believe that will change. It is still close, but she is at this point more likely to be in the runoff than Pratt is." Raman currently leads Pratt by 3,113 votes.
As of Sunday's update, Raman had received 19,096 votes, with Bass garnering 15,691 and Pratt securing 8,489. Raman's campaign expressed encouragement from the results, while Bass's campaign spokesman Alex Stack indicated that the mayor would "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 L.A."
The processing of mail-in ballots, postmarked by the June 2 election day, will continue through Tuesday. Election officials estimate approximately 368,000 ballots countywide remain to be counted, with the city of Los Angeles accounting for about 40% of the county's population. This ongoing tabulation has consistently benefited Raman's totals, drawing parallels to the 2022 mayoral election where Bass also overcame an initial deficit as mail-in ballots were tallied.
Spencer Pratt, who gained fame from MTV's "The Hills," had initially led Raman on election night. Analysts suggest Pratt's early support may have come from conservative voters who tend to cast ballots early. Raman, a progressive democratic socialist, is likely benefiting from younger, progressive voters who may have held onto their mail-in ballots longer. Political strategist Michael Trujillo expressed doubt that Pratt can regain second place, stating, "He’s close to flatlining at this point."
Should Raman secure a spot in the runoff, she is expected to present a substantial challenge to Mayor Bass. A poll conducted last month by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies indicated that in a head-to-head contest, Raman would lead Bass 32% to 28%. During the primary campaign, Raman has been a vocal critic of Bass's first term, particularly addressing issues of homelessness, housing construction, infrastructure repairs, and the decline of entertainment jobs.
