Nithya Raman will advance to the November election in the Los Angeles mayoral race, CNN projects, after overtaking Spencer Pratt for second place as more votes were counted in the days after the June 2 primary. Raman, a city councilmember, may be a tougher opponent for Bass in November than Pratt would have been.

Background

Raman has campaigned as a progressive outsider against Bass, who argued before the primary that her experience set her apart from both Pratt and Raman. Pratt, a Republican former reality TV star, generated buzz with a focus on homelessness and Bass’ response to the devastating Palisades fire.

Raman was an advocate targeting homelessness before being elected to the City Council and has vowed to reduce the number of people sleeping in tents or encampments by half before Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Olympics. The November matchup now features a battle between left-leaning leaders in the nation’s second-largest city.

Reaction

Pratt’s supporters – and Trump – criticized how the city and state run elections in recent days as Pratt’s lead over Raman narrowed. Trump ended an interview Sunday with NBC’s “Meet the Press” after accusing local officials of “cheating.”

First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli, a Trump appointee who leads the Los Angeles-based US attorney’s office, posted last week that there was “evidence of election fraud in California,” adding that “investigations are underway.” However, Essayli later affirmed that it was untrue that a vote-count update on election night showed Pratt receiving zero new votes.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.