City Councilwoman Nithya Raman Wednesday moved further over the majority needed to avoid a runoff in the race for the Fourth District seat, with her share of the vote increasing to 50.64%.
Raman had 50.19% of the vote at the conclusion of Tuesday’s vote count, the first time she surpassed 50% in the March 5 primary election, according to figures released by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
Deputy City Attorney Ethan Weaver is second with 38.62%, while neighborhood council member Levon “Lev” Baronian is last in the field of three with 10.74%.
With 70,839 ballots returned and 63,868 processed, there are 6,971 remaining to be processed.
If Raman remains above 50%, she will be reelected without a runoff. If she drops below 50%, the top two candidates will meet in a runoff in November.
Both challengers took positions to the right of Raman, who is one of the more progressive members of the council.
Raman raised more than $438,000 in campaign contributions and benefited from more than $400,000 in independent expenditures.
Other groups — including the union representing the rank-and-file of Los Angeles Police Department officers, the real estate company Douglas Emmett Management and the United Firefighters of LA City Local 112 — poured independent-expenditure money into Weaver’s campaign.
Weaver raised some $345,000 in contributions and benefited from more than $700,000 in independent expenditures. Baronian raised about $39,000 in campaign contributions.
The Fourth District covers parts of Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Reseda, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Hollywood and Encino.