Spencer Pratts lead shrinks over Nithya Raman and Xavier Becerra overtakes Steve Hilton in latest ballot drop
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt’s lead over Nithya Raman continued to shrink Friday with the latest ballot drop.Councilwoman Raman scored a major boost, cutting Pratt’s lead by about 13,000 votes from Thursday’s drop.Mayor Karen Bass remained in first place at 35% of the vote, while Pratt held onto second with 28.4% of the vote, down from 29.35% on Thursday.Pratt added just 10,651 votes in the latest count.Raman, meanwhile, surged from 23.42% to 24.89%, picking up 23,115 votes.
The latest results keep Raman within striking distance as hundreds of thousands of ballots remain uncounted.71% of the votes for mayor have now been counted.Friday results: Mayor Karen Bass 35% (215,868), Spencer Pratt 28.2% (174,260), Nithya Raman 24.9% (153,588).“Barring some mathematical surprise, today’s results suggest that Nithya Raman is likely headed to the runoff,” longtime political strategist Michael Trujillo told The California Post.
“The larger question people should start asking is whether Los Angeles wants a Democratic Socialists of America-backed controller, city attorney and mayor.Is the city ready for that level of influence from a single political movement?,” he added.“One factor to watch is the late vote.
Younger voters have tended to cast their ballots later for decades, and DSA-backed candidates have been particularly effective at organizing and turning out that demographic.As additional ballots are counted, that will continue to influence the outcome,” he said.Political strategist Rick Taylor wasn’t so sure the latest drop spelled doom for Pratt.“No one knows.
We’re all playing second guessers right now without having all the ballots,” said Taylor.“If I were on the Raman team, I’d feel good today.
I wouldn’t feel confident yet.”Taylor said Raman’s ability to outperform Pratt by more than two-to-one in the latest batch of ballots was a significant development.“When you outperform your opponent two to one, that’s ...