Raman closes – In Los Angeles’ mayoral primary, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass holds a lead, but progressive Councilwoman Nithya Raman is rapidly closing the gap on reality TV figure Spencer Pratt as ballots continue to be counted. In the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, billi
Los Angeles election night felt like a callback to “The Hills” — except the punchline came with real-time vote totals, shrinking margins, and a primary that still isn’t settled.
In the city mayoral race, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass remains on track to advance to the November general election, but the spotlight has shifted back to the battle for the second spot. Ballots are still being counted, and the numbers on the screen have moved again.
On Friday. June 5. Bass led with 34.81% of the vote. while Spencer Pratt was at 28.24% and Nithya Raman at 24.89%. according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. After that — just as Saturday’s counting continued — Raman gained ground sharply. As of the latest tally described in the count, Raman had moved to 26.21%, narrowing the gap on Pratt’s 27.32% standing.
The change since Friday is what has captured attention inside the campaign math. Raman’s 1.32-percentage-point jump is being treated as momentum in a race where even small shifts can decide which two candidates meet again in November. Bass is still far enough ahead to be the clearest qualifier so far. but Pratt’s position is no longer comfortable.
Ballot processing numbers are part of the picture, too. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk processed 156,965 ballots on June 6, bringing the total processed to 1,774,846. That total equals 30.12% of registered voters.
As California’s primaries continue to draw national attention. the Los Angeles mayoral race has turned into a close-up of the kind of “jungle” system the state uses: the top two candidates advance regardless of party. In this contest. Pratt’s longshot pitch has leaned heavily on voter frustration about how Bass handled last year’s Los Angeles wildfires.
The same primary-night tension is playing out in the governor’s race, with a very different set of candidates and a very similar uncertainty — not about whether the race will keep going, but about which names will define the final matchup.
In California’s gubernatorial race, Republican challenger Steve Hilton and Democratic businessman Tom Steyer remain in a tight, watched sequence behind a frontrunner path for former U.S. health secretary Xavier Becerra, who has already been selected to move forward by Golden State voters.
The vote picture in the governor’s race remains essentially unchanged. Hilton now has 26.1%, compared with 26.4% the previous day. Steyer has inched higher as well, still in third with 21.3%, up from 21.1%, according to the California Secretary of State’s office.
The final two on the ballot in November will face off against Becerra, who is positioned to advance while the rest of the field fights for positioning.
From the start, the governor’s contest has carried national weight. Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced last July that she would not seek the governorship. raising questions about another presidential bid. Sen. Alex Padilla, the state’s senior senator, declined to run in November 2025. And Rep. Katie Porter faced major controversy after a video leaked of her berating a former congressional staffer. Porter later used the viral backlash in a campaign ad. joking. “Now. could you guys please get out of my shot?”.
California election officials also continue to manage the timing of counts, with June 7 marking the sixth day they are processing primary ballots postmarked by Election Day, after in-person voting ended June 2. The state’s mail-in system is a key reason counting has taken longer.
On top of the counting itself, national political pressure has entered the room. Trump, who bestowed his coveted endorsement to Hilton over Sheriff Chad Bianco, has scrutinized the slow-moving tally. In a series of posts on his Truth Social media platform. Trump wrote — without providing proof — that Democrats are “stealing the vote” in the governor’s race.
In Los Angeles, the narrative of election security also found its way into the mayoral contest. Pratt posted a meme on June 6 casting doubt on Los Angeles election security. writing. “Me trying to figure out how votes get counted in LA.” California election officials have said the count will take time due to the state’s deluge of mail-in ballots.
There’s a reason the political tone has landed differently on each race while the mechanics stay the same. In both contests, a system designed to keep outcomes open until the final totals harden is creating room for claim-making, campaign acceleration, and last-minute surprises.
And even the closing messages in the mayoral race have borrowed from reality TV. The “Hills” theme song — with the line “The rest is still unwritten” — is described as being used by Raman in a closing campaign ad.
With ballots still being counted after June 2, both primaries remain works in progress — one tightening around who becomes the next opponent in November, the other sorting out a governor’s race where Hilton and Steyer are separated by fractions while Becerra holds steady.
California primaries Los Angeles mayoral race Nithya Raman Spencer Pratt Karen Bass Steve Hilton Tom Steyer Xavier Becerra Gavin Newsom election night ballot counting Truth Social Trump endorsement