Karen Bass and Spencer Pratt lead Nithya Raman for Los Angeles mayor in early results

Early election results are beginning to come in Tuesday night in one of the most closely watched Los Angeles mayoral races in decades, with incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and political outsider Spencer Pratt taking an early lead.Karen Bass had 36.54% of the vote, Pratt was at 30.12% and councilmember Nithya Raman had 20.18% with 16% of the vote counted at 8:48 p.m.Tuesday night.The high-stakes contest has been defined by voter concerns over homelessness, public safety, affordability, government accountability and the city’s recovery from the devastating Palisades Fire. While initial results are trickling in, election observers caution that Los Angeles voters may not know who will ultimately advance to the general election for days, and potentially weeks.“We won’t realistically know for another 10 to 14 days,” Rick Taylor, a veteran political consultant with more than 50 years of experience in Los Angeles politics told The California Post.

“Forty-five to 50 percent of the votes are mailed in.The county has to verify signatures and make sure every ballot is legitimate before it’s counted.”Polling leading into Election Day showed Bass, Raman and Pratt separated by only a few percentage points, setting up what could be an extended period of vote counting.It’s been 21 years since an incumbent Los Angeles mayor was forced into a runoff after serving a first term.In 2005, then-City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa defeated Mayor James Hahn, who was seeking reelection.“Even 21 years ago, Mayor Hahn faced two very credible opponents,” Taylor said.

“That was a much tougher election than this one.We also didn’t have the homelessness crisis then that we have now.”Bass, who was elected in 2022 after defeating billionaire developer Rick Caruso, has argued she deserves another four years to continue the work her administration has started.Under Los Angeles’ top-two election system, the two candidates receiving the most votes will advance to a November ru...