Spencer Pratt’s surprise run for Los Angeles mayor hit a major snag Sunday when progressive City Councilmember Nithya Raman jumped ahead of him in the still-unfinished primary count, just as President Donald Trump intensified his attacks on California’s slow-moving election process.
The former reality TV star had spent days sitting in second place behind Mayor Karen Bass, raising the possibility of a November runoff between the Democratic incumbent and an outsider Republican candidate best known for “The Hills.”
That picture shifted after Los Angeles County released its latest batch of results. Bass, who had already been projected by to advance, remained well ahead with 250,871 votes, or 34.68%, with 83.2% of the expected vote counted.
Raman moved into second with 27.12% of ballots counted, pulling 3,113 votes ahead of Pratt, who stood at 26.69%.
California’s top-two primary system sends the two highest vote-getters to the general election if no candidate clears 50%, regardless of party.
Decision Desk HQ projects Nithya Raman wins the second of two spots in the CA Los Angeles Mayor Nonpartisan Primary#DecisionMade: 7:57 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/PIwkJ5xxGO
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) June 7, 2026
For Pratt, the late shift was brutal. He had led Raman by nearly 10 points on Election Day, but the ballots counted afterward have heavily favored the Los Angeles councilwoman.
By Friday, Raman had received roughly twice as many votes as Pratt in that day’s update. By Saturday, she had narrowed the gap to about 7,500 votes.
On Sunday, she overtook him. The Registrar said Sunday’s update included 122,807 ballots, bringing the total processed to 1,897,653.
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That represented 32.21% of registered voters in Los Angeles County, with more than 368,000 ballots still waiting to be counted.
Pratt tried to project confidence before the latest shift, telling supporters on social media that the count was far from finished.
“Remember everyone…we are still in the lead, and we’ve got allllllll the way til July 6th to keep counting,” he wrote alongside a photo of Raman crying on election night.
Remember everyone…we are still in the lead, and we’ve got allllllll the way til July 6th to keep counting. They’re not the only ones who know where to find votes 😉 pic.twitter.com/rqgIcwUtGZ
— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) June 7, 2026
Raman, meanwhile, cast her campaign as a fight for the city’s future during remarks Tuesday night.
“I hope you know that everything every person in this room is fighting for in this campaign has been about building a city that’s worthy of you and every child in this city,” Raman said.
After Sunday’s update, Bass’ campaign treated Raman as the likely runoff opponent and immediately sharpened the attack.
“We look forward to winning a contest against an opponent who allows encampments near schools and fights against hiring more cops, yet is MIA on saving Hollywood jobs and fighting back when ICE invades LA,” campaign spokesperson Alex Stack said.
Raman said her campaign was energized by the latest results. “We are encouraged by the latest vote count and remain grateful to the thousands of Angelenos who have powered this campaign,” she told Deadline Sunday.
Pratt suggested something else was going on after late-arriving ballots moved the race by more than 43,000 votes.
He responded to a post noting the swing by comparing the number to Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis.
“A net swing of more than 43,000 votes since Tuesday. … 43,000, huh? Where have I seen that number before? Probably nothing,” Pratt wrote on X, quoting an article that said 43,699 people experience homelessness in Los Angeles.
"A net swing of more than 43,000 votes since Tuesday.."
43,000, huh? Where have I seen that number before…?
Probably nothing. 🤷 https://t.co/W2E3k6PHyR pic.twitter.com/ZfzHCy9enb
— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) June 8, 2026
The unusual mayoral count quickly fed into a broader fight over California elections that Trump has been hammering for days.
Late Wednesday and Thursday, Trump blasted the state’s slow tabulation on Truth Social and accused Democrats of trying to steal votes.
“Why the vote counting DELAY???” Trump asked. “Look what’s happening in California, the Dumocrats, right before our very eyes, are stealing the vote,” he wrote Thursday.
That night, Trump again urged supporters to watch the state. “Watch California, everybody!” he posted.
“Our Election process is as bad, or worse, than any Third World Country. The biggest difference is, they count their Votes much faster — They don’t wait seven days to tell you who won, rigging the Election during each and every one of them. Americans are ashamed of what is happening!”
Bill Essayli, the Trump-appointed first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, announced Friday that his office had “multiple election fraud investigations underway,” though he did not provide details.
“We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent,” Essayli wrote on X.
🇺🇸BREAKING: Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli is leading multiple election fraud investigations in coordination with the FBI’s LA office.
He vowed: “We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent.”… pic.twitter.com/xnCBvGlQc2
— And We Know©🇺🇸 (@andweknow) June 6, 2026
Essayli also criticized California’s election rules, pointing to mail-in voting and the lack of a photo ID requirement at polling places.
“My office will not look the other way. We will investigate and prosecute. Every legal vote deserves to be counted. Every illegal vote cancels one out,” he wrote.
Trump later referenced the federal scrutiny, saying votes were “Under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.”
California’s primary was held Tuesday, but state law allows mail ballots to be counted if they were postmarked by Election Day and received by county offices by the following Tuesday.
JUST IN: United States Attorney Bill Essayli announces on X that his office has “multiple” fraud investigations underway into California’s elections.
This comes less than 24 hours after President Trump called on the media to cover the irregularities in those races and said… pic.twitter.com/IeMMNZSQh1
— Overton (@overton_news) June 5, 2026
Trump also tied California’s count to election integrity during a combative “Meet the Press” interview with NBC anchor Kristen Welker.
The exchange began with questions about the proposed anti-weaponization fund and whether taxpayer money could go to people involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Trump pivoted to attacks on former officials and then pointed to California’s still-unfinished primary count as evidence of a “rigged” election.
“It was a dirty election. And it’s happening again right now in California,” he said.
Welker asked whether he had evidence. “All I have to do is look,” Trump replied.
When Welker pushed back that looking was not evidence, Trump attacked the press and the network.
“They’re crooked just like you’re crooked, your press is crooked. And ‘Meet the Press’ is crooked,” he said.
After more sparring, Trump abruptly ended the interview. “You’re a one-sided crooked network. Sorry. Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time,” he said.
“A country can never be great with a dishonest press,” Trump added.
LA and CA are beyond salvation. Corruption and stupidity rule. They’re going down the same path as NYC and they deserve it.