Nithya Raman Projected to Advance to Los Angeles Mayoral Runoff Against Incumbent Karen Bass

LOS ANGELES — One week after California's primary election day, the insurgent mayoral campaign of reality television star Spencer Pratt has officially come to an end. NBC News is now projecting that progressive City Councilwoman Nithya Raman has overtaken the conservative political outsider and will advance to the general election runoff in November against incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass.

The updated projection marks a definitive turn from election night, when initial returns showed Pratt holding a firm second-place lead and positioned for a runoff spot. As county election workers continuously processed hundreds of thousands of outstanding mail-in ballots over the past week, the progressive city council member steadily closed the gap and ultimately pulled ahead as late-arriving ballots favored progressive candidates in the left-leaning city center.

The shifting vote totals drew immediate national attention and sparked unverified allegations of voter fraud from prominent conservative figures, including former President Donald Trump. In a social media post, Trump claimed the results were fraudulent, questioning how an early election night lead could vanish during post-election tabulation.

Nonpartisan election officials quickly pushed back against the fraud claims, explaining that the protracted tabulation process is a standard feature of California's expansive voting infrastructure. Because state law dictates that all mail-in ballots must be counted as long as they are postmarked by election day and arrive within a week, the final tallies often take substantial time to formalize. Los Angeles County election administrators noted that the system is intentionally structured to provide voters with maximum access and flexibility, rather than instant certification. Mayor Bass also addressed the accusations, dismissing them as a familiar rhetorical complaint often made by campaigns that are losing ground.

With well over a million mail-in ballots still being verified and securely counted across the state, several other major California races remain unsettled. In the tight race for California Governor, Republican candidate Steve Hilton stated that while he finds the slow tabulation process structurally flawed, his campaign has observed no evidence of fraud. Hilton is currently locked in a close battle against Democrat Tom Steyer to determine who will advance to face former Biden cabinet member Xavier Becerra in the upcoming November general election.

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