Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman Thursday again gained ground on former television reality star Spencer Pratt in the race to join incumbent Karen Bass in a November runoff election for mayor.
An updated vote tally Thursday showed Pratt with 29.35% of the vote, compared to 23.42% for Raman, with Pratt holding a lead of 33,076 votes. Wednesday afternoon, Pratt had a 40,301-vote lead over Raman.
Bass maintained her lead with 35.08% of the vote.
It was unknown how many ballots still remain to be tallied. Additional election-day ballots will be counted, with final results not expected for several weeks as county officials continue processing vote-by-mail, provisional and other outstanding ballots.
A representative for Raman’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Thursday’s returns.
Pratt has touted what appeared to be his opportunity to face Bass in a runoff.
On Tuesday night, Pratt said he was confident he could persuade voters to back him over Bass in a runoff.
“I have months now to prove that to them … I’m confident with five months in their own communities with their community leaders,” Pratt said.
Mayoral candidate Adam Miller, who had received 3.88% of the votes as of Thursday, issued a statement saying the results were not what he hoped for. He also thanked his family and his supporters.
“This was never just about one election. It has been about building momentum for lasting change and refusing to believe that L.A. has to settle for dysfunction, delays and declining trust in government,” tech entrepreneur Miller said.
“The crises we face remain urgent, and I will continue working to help solve them. I still believe Los Angeles is worth fighting for and that all Angelenos deserve to live better,” Miller added.
Housing advocate Rae Huang, who received 2.77% of the votes, and among the top five candidates, posted a statement online Wednesday, also thanking her supporters.
“Since the beginning, our campaign had three goals: expand the electorate vote in Los Angeles, bring hope to this city that has experienced trauma after trauma and build a coalition of regular Angelenos whose power reaches beyond one election. And we — you — did exactly that,” Huang posted on social media.
Meanwhile, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber reminded voters that vote totals will continue changing for several weeks as officials count outstanding ballots. The message came in the wake of allegations by President Donald Trump of election cheating.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “The Dumocrats are at it again! They are trying to STEAL THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA PRIMARY, AND THE MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES, PRIMARY, AWAY FROM TWO GREAT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of MAIL IN BALLOTS.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not publicly confirm any such investigation.
Weber noted that while Election Day has passed, California law allows county elections officials up to 30 days to complete the official canvass and process eligible ballots that remain outstanding.
“Accuracy comes before speed,” Weber said in a statement. “California is the nation’s largest voting state, with millions of ballots to process and count. Taking the time to do this work correctly protects voters’ rights and ensures the integrity of our elections.”