OAN Staff Lillian Mann
11:37 AM – Monday, June 8, 2026
In a dramatic shift, far-left Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman has surged past former reality star-turned-conservative mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt into second place in the primary — though incumbent Karen Bass maintains her lead.
After polls closed on June 2nd, Bass (D-Calif.) remains locked in a tight re-election bid against a crowded field of challengers, most notably City Councilmember Nithya Raman (D-Calif.) and former reality TV star Spencer Pratt (R-Calif.).
Bass leads the field with 250,871 votes, while Raman has secured 196,198. Pratt, who previously received an endorsement from President Donald Trump, remains in third place with 193,085 votes, according to The Associated Press.
The mayor’s race is officially nonpartisan, with all candidates appearing on a single ballot. Because no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote — a threshold that would have secured an outright victory and eliminated the need for a runoff — the top two finishers will advance to the general election.
When polls initially closed, Pratt held a significant lead over Raman for the second-place spot. However, California’s election system permits mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked by election day.
On Monday, President Trump took to Truth Social to comment on the dramatic shift in the race, echoing his previous concerns over California’s delayed primary results.
“Not possible for Spencer Pratt to have lost the L.A. runoffs after the big lead he had,” the president wrote.
Historically, mail-in ballots in Los Angeles heavily favor progressive and Democrat candidates. Over the weekend, as officials processed the mail-in ballots, Raman overtook Pratt’s lead and surged ahead by roughly 3,000 votes.
President Trump first questioned the integrity of California’s elections on Thursday, accusing Democrats of attempting to manipulate the L.A. election through its mail-in ballot system.
Looking forward, Bass and Raman are now expected to face off in a closely contested general election in the heavily blue city.
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