Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman has moved ahead of former reality television personality Spencer Pratt in the battle for a place in the November mayoral election following the latest vote update.
According to results released on Sunday evening, Raman secured roughly 40 percent of nearly 48,000 newly counted ballots, gaining about 10,000 more votes than Pratt and opening a lead of approximately 3,000 votes overall.
Despite the shift, the race remains too close to call, with additional ballots still awaiting counting. As a result, it remains unclear which candidate will advance to face incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in November.
Raman’s rise in the vote count had been building over recent days. Since election night, she has consistently outperformed both Bass and Pratt in newly counted ballots, narrowing the gap and eventually moving into second place.
Her strongest performances came during vote updates over the weekend, where she captured about 40 percent of the ballots counted in each batch, while Pratt received around 18 percent.
California’s vote-counting process often extends beyond Election Day because of the state’s heavy reliance on mail-in ballots. Under state rules, ballots postmarked by Election Day can still be counted if received within a specified period afterward.
Political observers note that ballots counted after election night in California often favor Democratic candidates, as many late-arriving mail votes are cast closer to Election Day.
Although the Los Angeles mayoral contest is officially nonpartisan, Pratt is registered as a Republican, while Raman has campaigned on a progressive platform.
Meanwhile, Bass appeared to signal her strategy for a potential November contest against Raman, criticizing the councilmember’s record and suggesting she had been absent on key issues affecting the city, including job protection and immigration-related concerns.
