Los Angeles’ mayoral primary still has a runoff spot up for grabs as lingering ballot counts tighten the race, draw national scrutiny, and fuel familiar fights over election rules and trust. Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass secured first place, while independent Spencer Pratt clings to a slim lead over Democrat Nithya Raman with thousands of ballots yet to be tallied. The slow counting has become a flashpoint for Republicans pushing for clearer rules and faster transparency.
With roughly 78% of precincts counted, Bass sat atop the field with 235,180 votes, about 34.8 percent. Pratt had 184,596 votes, roughly 27.3 percent, and Raman trailed with 177,102 votes at 26.2 percent. That margin between Pratt and Raman is razor thin and shrinking as late batches come in.
Los Angeles County continues to process ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within the county’s deadline, and officials must certify results within 30 days. The drawn-out count has drawn attention from the Republican National Committee and conservative commentators who argue voters deserve swift, transparent results. Certifying by July 10 now sits on a tight timeline if these batches keep shifting the leaderboard.
“The California primary ended on June 2, 2026; yet California is still counting ballots,” the RNC website tracker counting the seconds since polls closed reads. “The state’s election system is a complete joke. The RNC is tracking every hour it takes California to finish the count.”
The most recent ballot drop was a turning point: Raman added 23,514 votes in a single batch while Pratt picked up 10,336, cutting Pratt’s lead by 13,178 votes in one day. Those swings underscore why late-arriving batches matter in big cities and why conservatives worry that delayed counts can reshape results long after Election Night. For voters and candidates alike, the unpredictability fuels anger and suspicion.
Pratt himself mocked the confusion online, posting a meme and writing, “Me trying to figure out how votes get counted in LA,” he wrote Saturday night. Under California’s top-two system, no one wins outright unless they clear 50 percent, so only the top two advance to November. That rule means each late tally can suddenly flip who remains in the race.
“The question to the rest of the world is what happened to California elections? Well, I’ll tell you, it’s Gavin Newsom,” McCarthy told Fox’s program. “When Gavin Newsom was elected governor of California, you knew who was elected in a day to two days. Now it takes more than weeks, almost a month.”
McCarthy pressed the needle further: “Why did we get here?” McCarthy continued. “Gavin changed a number of election laws in which you want to see is what did he do and why did he cause it?” His point echoes a broader GOP argument that recent rule changes, especially universal mailings and softer ID requirements, leave results vulnerable to doubt.
On the ground in Los Angeles, partisan operatives traded barbs. Michael Trujillo dismissed outsider blowback as normal and wrote on X, “I was always a little jealous of east coast elections getting so much attention in the media and on this app, yeah nevermind,” he wrote on X. “The stupidity from these out of state analysts and reporters and the bots and fake accounts it brings to what is really a very NORMAL process happening in Los Angeles and California is annoying. ‘Go back to where you came from, thanks.'”
Conservative voices pushed back hard. “Spencer Pratt is likely going to be overtaken by far left Nithya Raman today,” Robby Starbuck wrote on X. Elon Musk jumped in, asserting, “The reason ID is banned in California (and New York) elections is to enable large-scale fraud,” Musk claimed on X, replying to Starbuck’s post. “When you combine no ID and mail-in voting, fraud is de facto legalized.”
Others highlighted raw voter registration math to argue a predictable Democratic advantage. “IF SOMETHING CAN BE EXPLAINED BY A CONVOLUTED CONSPIRACY THEORY—OR SIMPLE MATH—THEN MATH ALWAYS WINS,” Rep. Ted Lieu wrote on X. “LA Registered Voters. Approximate number of Dems: 1,224,737 Approximate number of Republicans: 326,292.”
McCarthy urged clearer rules and earlier cutoffs, saying voters deserve timely reporting and accountability. “They want to see transparency and they want to see timely reporting: We had that in California,” he said, adding that prior systems cut off registrations earlier and required more checks. Those changes, he argued, made counts faster and more reliable, and supporters of reform say returning to stricter timelines and ID standards would restore faith.
As the legal fight over late-arriving ballots heads toward the Supreme Court in Watson v. RNC, the RNC doubled down on its message. “.@POTUS is right,” the RNC’s Election Integrity unit posted on X. “That’s why the RNC has boots on the ground and is fighting in the Supreme Court to stop ballots received after Election Day from being counted. MAKE ELECTIONS SECURE AGAIN!” The coming weeks could resolve both the local runoff and a national debate over when ballots should be counted.
Darnell Thompkins is a Canadian-born American and conservative opinion writer who brings a unique perspective to political and cultural discussions. Passionate about traditional values and individual freedoms, Darnell’s commentary reflects his commitment to fostering meaningful dialogue. When he’s not writing, he enjoys watching hockey and celebrating the sport that connects his Canadian roots with his American journey.