Republican lawmakers and party leaders are raising objections to California vote counting in the Los Angeles mayor’s race, where Republican candidate Spencer Pratt appears to be eliminated from the runoff. Multiple outlets report that progressive City Council member Nithya Raman overtakes Pratt after election night, shrinking and then erasing Pratt’s earlier lead as remaining ballots are counted. In coverage, Decision Desk HQ projections show Raman finishing ahead of Pratt in the initial round, despite Pratt’s advantage when in-person voting closed on June 2. The Hill also reports that some Republicans frame the outcome as evidence of irregularities and align their concerns with broader claims made by President Donald Trump about fraud in California’s slow election results.
At the same time, the reporting notes that while Republicans are protesting the outcome and criticizing vote tabulation, they do not unanimously endorse or repeat all of Trump’s fraud allegations in their entirety. The dispute centers on the timing and final count that determines who advances to the next stage of the election against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass (D).
