California’s election results are still coming in from the June 2 primary.
Making matters even more worrisome, Democratic leaders in the state claim it could take weeks to count all the ballots.
But in the Los Angeles mayoral contest, incumbent Democrat Karen Bass didn’t crack the 51% needed to win outright, setting up a runoff in November.
More importantly, there’s a battle between former reality TV personality and Republican Spencer Pratt and City Council member and Democrat Nithya Raman.
At the time of this writing on Thursday morning, Pratt is ahead and Raman would have to make up a huge number of votes.
Roughly 62% of the vote has been counted as of Wednesday night.
Per the New York Times, here’s where the voting totals stand as of this writing on Thursday morning:
–Karen Bass — 183,701 (35%)
–Spencer Pratt — 157,116 (29.9%)
–Nithya Raman — 119,809 (22.8%)
So far, Pratt looks likely to square off against Bass in November.
No Republican has won a mayoral race in Los Angeles in more than three decades.
But the votes he has already earned reflect a real frustration among Angelenos with a city that has declined after years of Democratic rule.
A business leader and former city council candidate said Spencer Pratt’s rise in the Los Angeles mayoral race is a result of voters’ unhappiness with the status quo on crime, the recent wildfires, and the unfriendly business climate.
“I think a lot of people are concerned about what’s happening, they really don’t know how to fix this, and I think the crime, the homelessness, the addiction, all the above behaviors of what’s happened in our city,” said John Putnam, the president of Putnam Brands & Putnam Accessory Group.
“The politicians that are causing this, I think a lot people are seeing that,” Putnam added.
“And I think Spencer’s actually bringing the light in a real way. He’s pretty basic with his delivery of his issues,” Putnam continued.
“And I think that’s resonating a lot. Even if you don’t want to vote for him, you’re listening, though and I think that’s resonating with a lot of people,” Putnam declared.
“California’s got a big issue, but the city, especially where we live, Santa Monica, is a byproduct of what’s happened in Los Angeles and across the world,” Putnam said.
This comes after two incidents of attempted election interference may have occurred in Long Beach and elsewhere before the June 2 primary election.
Pratt announced the complaint Tuesday in a post on X.
“Karen Bass just violated election law here,” Pratt wrote.
“She is so accustomed to breaking the law with no accountability, she even filmed herself doing it. Well, those days are over. We just filed a formal complaint for illegally gaming the election. We must protect our democracy.”
Pratt argued that Bass violated laws designed to prevent electioneering near voting locations.
“Electioneering within 100 feet of a ballot box is AGAINST THE LAW. Soliciting votes at a ballot box is AGAINST THE LAW,” he wrote.
“These clear violations show a reckless disregard for the rule of law and our democratic process.”
The candidate went on to accuse Bass of believing different rules apply to elected officials.
“A person in a position of power such as Bass should be especially respectful of our democratic laws, but this is just emblematic of Karen’s mafia-like regime. It’s ‘rules for thee, but not for me,’” Pratt said.
Pratt included a photograph of the complaint filing in his social media post and vowed to pursue the matter.
Under California law, candidates and campaign workers are prohibited from electioneering within 100 feet of a ballot drop box.
Pratt’s complaint centers on a campaign video posted by Bass that appeared to show her encouraging supporters to vote while standing near a ballot box.
A spokesperson for Bass dismissed the complaint and questioned Pratt’s campaign.
