Does Nithya Raman still have a chance? California's uncounted votes could help Democrats

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With many races still very tight and millions of ballots yet to be counted, political experts said Democrats are likely to hold — or even gain — the edge as results of the primary election come into focus.Republicans appear to have over-performed in early vote counts, but for a variety of reasons, experts believe the ballots will lean more Democratic as the latest vote-by-mail ballots are counted.This could benefit progressives in close races, but by how much remains an open question.“Don’t count [Councilmember] Nithya Raman out yet,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, who closely tracks local elections.

Raman is currently in third place behind reality TV personality Spencer Pratt and Mayor Karen Bass, who has secured a spot in the runoff.Raman would have to make up significant ground to reach Pratt and receive a sizable portion of remaining votes.

“Pratt has an edge ...but it’s not free from doubt at this point,” Yaroslavsky said.Rob Stutzman, a longtime GOP strategist, agrees the remaining vote count will skew more strongly for Democrats, but he’s “not so sure it’s going to change where we’re at.”“I don’t think you’re going to see a big swing,” Stutzman said.Raman’s chances rely on her beating Bass considerably in the remaining count — “that doesn’t seem very likely,” Stutzman said.

Still, the GOP — long the minority in deep blue California — had things brag about on election night.Pratt, a Republican, clearly broke through to a certain segment of Los Angeles, which is overwhelmingly Democratic.

And Steve Hilton, a Fox News commentator backed by President Trump, emerged as the leading vote-getter in the race to replace Gov.Gavin Newsom.

Experts have said both tapped into dissatisfaction with the status quo in Democratic politics.But in recent years, early momentum from Republicans has ...