OAN Staff Jenna Lee
10:56 AM – Wednesday, June 10, 2026
California GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton blasted the state’s election system following the elimination of Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt from the city’s upcoming runoff.
Hilton placed the blame for Pratt’s late-stage loss squarely on California’s prolonged ballot-counting process. While early election night returns initially placed Pratt in second position — which would have secured him a spot in the November runoff — a days-long tally of late-arriving mail-in ballots ultimately pushed progressive challenger Nithya Raman ahead to face incumbent Karen Bass.
California’s primary rules dictate that only the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of political party. As a result of late-counted mail-in ballots shifting the standings, Raman will face off against Bass in November, shutting the Republican runner-up out of the runoff.
“Spencer Pratt put forward an unbelievably compelling case for change in Los Angeles. I think that what’s happened with Spencer Pratt is a travesty,” said Hilton at a press conference.
“It is a travesty that Los Angeles, now with all the problems that we can all see in this election, is going to have a choice between the obviously incompetent incumbent and an ideological extremist. They are now not going to have the choice for change in November. It is an outrage and a travesty that Spencer won’t be on there,” he added.
Pratt had gone viral during the primary for his relentless and compelling campaigning style. Hilton added that, should he win his own race, he is entirely open to bringing Pratt into his administration.
“I’ll be honored and proud to have him work with me as the next governor in any capacity,” said Hilton.
President Donald Trump also targeted the state’s election system, writing on Truth Social: “No way this could have happened. Rigged Election!”
“This is a joke. Everyone sees what’s happening. When will Republicans recognize the urgency and pass legislation to fix this broken system before Americans lose faith in our elections?” wrote Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-Ariz.) on X, echoing the frustration.
As of Tuesday morning, Democrat candidate Xavier Becerra maintained the lead in the California gubernatorial race with more than 2.2 million votes, or 27.7% of the ballots tallied so far. Hilton followed closely behind with 25% of the vote, followed by Tom Steyer (D-Calif.) at 22.4%.
Hilton has since pointed to voter ID as a vital, longer-term solution to California’s notoriously sluggish vote-counting process.
“If we had voter ID, we would need all this endless checking of signatures and verification, all the things that they say take all this time,” said Hilton, emphasizing that state Voter ID requirements are essential fixes.
Hilton is now set to face off against Becerra in the November general election.
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