Raman closes in on Pratt as Los Angeles vote count continues
Raman cut Pratt’s lead to 20,672 votes as Los Angeles County kept counting ballots. The narrow race exposed how late ballots and a split progressive vote were reshaping the runoff fight.
Nithya Raman kept closing on Spencer Pratt as Los Angeles County added another round of ballots, turning the fight for second place into the most volatile part of the mayor’s race. Karen Bass had already secured the top spot and a runoff berth, but the unresolved question was who would finish next and face her in November.
By Friday, June 6, Pratt led Raman by 20,672 votes, 174,260 to 153,588. That margin had already narrowed from 33,076 votes on Thursday and 40,302 votes on Wednesday, a steep erosion that showed how much of the electorate was still left to count. In the latest batch, Raman added 23,115 votes, compared with 10,711 for Pratt and 20,419 for Bass.
Los Angeles County said the June 2 Statewide Direct Primary Election was still in the canvass period and that the results remained unofficial. County figures showed 5,891,851 registered voters, 2,175 precincts and turnout of 30.12 percent, with 1,774,846 ballots counted as of June 6 at 4:50 p.m. Officials also said vote-by-mail ballots were counted first and that ballots from late-registered voters could still come in during canvass, helping explain why the race was still moving days after election night.
Earlier Associated Press totals, with about 64 percent of votes counted, showed Bass at 195,449 votes, or 35.1 percent, Pratt at 163,549 votes, or 29.4 percent, and Raman at 130,473 votes, or 23.4 percent. That snapshot underscored how Bass had separated herself from the field while the contest behind her remained unsettled.
The larger political story is not just the margin but the coalition math. Los Angeles Public Press reported that Raman entered the race late and disrupted what had looked like a smooth path to reelection for Bass. It also noted that progressive voters were split between Raman and Rae Chen Huang, leaving Raman to consolidate a left-of-center electorate that had not fully lined up behind one candidate. Raman’s earlier City Council victory came with a record-breaking coalition, but the mayoral campaign has forced her to widen that appeal.
The final count will show whether Pratt’s early advantage held or whether Raman’s late surge pulled her into the runoff. It will also show how much of urban Democratic politics in Los Angeles still depends on ballot timing, fractured ideological blocs and the slow grind of the county canvass.
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