Overview
- Nithya Raman moved into second place after Los Angeles County updates the weekend of June 7–8 showed her overtaking Spencer Pratt and the CNN Decision Desk projected she will face incumbent Karen Bass in November.
- County reports said roughly 48,000 ballots were added in the late batch, with Raman winning about 40 percent of that group and emerging with an advantage of roughly 3,000 votes over Pratt.
- California law allows ballots with a valid postmark to be counted up to seven days after Election Day, a process that helps explain why results in heavily mail-voting counties like Los Angeles can change after election night.
- The campaigns have already shifted to a head-to-head dynamic focused on homelessness, housing and public safety, with Bass’s campaign attacking Raman for her record on jobs and immigration response.
- Conservative commentators questioned the late updates and a top federal prosecutor briefly suggested irregularities before correcting a specific claim, and reporting to date has not substantiated widespread fraud.