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Nithya Raman has overtaken Spencer Pratt for the first time in the race for second place in Los Angeles’ mayoral contest.
New results released by Los Angeles County show Raman with 196,198 votes, or 27.12%, compared with Pratt’s 193,085 votes, or 26.69%.
The latest tally gives Raman a 3,113-vote lead after she trailed Pratt by 7,494 votes just one day earlier. Raman picked up 19,096 votes in Sunday’s count, more than double Pratt’s gain of 8,489 votes.
The latest batch of ballots produced a 10,607-vote swing between the two candidates, erasing Pratt’s advantage and moving Raman into second place.
Mayor Karen Bass remained in first place with 250,871 votes, or 34.68%. The turnaround marks a remarkable shift from election night, when Pratt appeared well-positioned to secure a runoff spot.
As additional ballots have been counted over the past week, Raman has steadily narrowed the gap before finally moving ahead Sunday.
Political observers have long noted that ballots counted later in California elections often come from younger and more progressive voters, a demographic that has been a key source of support for Raman.
The latest results arrived as scrutiny of Los Angeles County’s slow vote-counting process continued to grow.
Over the weekend, social media users circulated claims that one candidate had received zero votes in an election-night ballot update.
The allegation drew the attention of federal officials after U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli reviewed the claim.
“There was a claim circulating on social media about an election night ballot update at the Los Angeles Registrar of Voters where one candidate received zero votes,” Essayli wrote. “We reviewed official county records. The claim is false. Each candidate received votes in every update. My office will continue monitoring the election counting process and will follow the evidence wherever it leads.”
Pratt also responded to Sunday’s vote update on social media.
Posting a photo of Raman, Pratt wrote: “Remember everyone… we are still in the lead, and we’ve got allllllll the way til July 6th to keep counting. They’re not the only ones who know where to find votes.”
Sunday’s update brought Los Angeles County to 83% of ballots counted, according to election officials.
California counties have until early July to complete and certify their election results.
The governor’s race also shifted Sunday as former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra expanded his lead over Republican Steve Hilton.
Becerra increased his total from 1,732,755 votes, or 26.8%, on Saturday to 1,827,195 votes, or 27.0%, on Sunday, gaining 94,440 votes in the latest batch of ballots.
Hilton rose from 1,704,821 votes and 26.4% on Saturday to 1,763,414 votes and 26.1% on Sunday. But Becerra outpaced him by 35,847 votes in the newest count, expanding his lead from 27,934 votes to 63,781 votes.
Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer remained in third place with 1,440,310 votes, or 21.3%, leaving him more than 323,000 votes behind Hilton in the race for the second spot in November’s runoff.
Election officials are expected to release another round of results Monday.
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