LA Mayor’s Race Tightens As Socialist Raman Advancing

The battle for second place in Los Angeles’ mayoral primary is tightening as newly counted mail ballots continue to favor City Councilmember Nithya Raman, fueling speculation that she could still overtake Spencer Pratt and secure a spot in the November runoff against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.

The latest batch of late-arriving ballots showed Bass receiving 11,748 votes, or 36.9% of the vote. Raman captured 10,664 votes, accounting for 33.5%, while Pratt received 6,433 votes, or 20.2%.

Those results represent a notable overperformance for Raman compared to the pace she needs to catch Pratt in the overall count.

Election analysts tracking the race noted that Raman’s benchmark against Pratt in late ballots was roughly 11.2%. Instead, she outperformed that target by approximately two percentage points, allowing her to continue chipping away at Pratt’s lead.