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Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman has overtaken reality television star Spencer Pratt in the latest Associated Press vote count, although the outlet has not called the race.
Pratt, a Republican, had led earlier in the day, but the latest tally now shows Raman, a Democrat, ahead by more than 3,000 votes, or about 0.4 percentage points, in the officially nonpartisan mayoral race.
Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, has already advanced to a runoff as she seeks a second term. She is now waiting for the candidate she will face in the runoff, as AP has not yet called a second candidate to advance.
CALIFORNIA’S SLUGGISH VOTE COUNTING RIPPED ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM: ‘EXTREMELY EMBARRASSING’
In Los Angeles’ nonpartisan mayoral election, if no candidate wins a majority in the primary, the top two vote-getters advance to the November runoff.
Los Angeles County continues to count ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received by June 9, drawing the attention of the Republican National Committee. County officials must complete final official results by July 2, and the secretary of state will certify results by July 10.
California’s vote count often extends beyond Election Day because every active registered voter receives a mail ballot, ballots postmarked by Election Day may arrive up to seven days later, and election workers must verify signatures and process late-arriving ballots.
WATCH: LEFT-WING LA MAYOR FACES REALITY TV CHALLENGER’S BLUNT TAKEDOWNS IN HEATED MAYORAL DEBATE
“The California primary ended on June 2, 2026; yet California is still counting ballots,” the RNC website tracker counting the seconds since polls closed reads.
“The state’s election system is a complete joke. The RNC is tracking every hour it takes California to finish the count,” it added.
Pratt and other Republicans have decried the ongoing ballot count in the race. Election officials and voting experts have said California’s extended count is largely driven by state mail ballot rules, signature verification and the processing of late-arriving ballots.
“The question to the rest of the world is what happened to California elections? Well, I’ll tell you, it’s Gavin Newsom,” McCarthy told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “When Gavin Newsom was elected governor of California, you knew who was elected in a day to two days. Now it takes more than weeks, almost a month.”
“Why did we get here?” McCarthy continued. “Gavin changed a number of election laws in which you want to see is what did he do and why did he cause it?”
Fox News’ Eric Mack contributed to this report.
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