Mayor Karen Bass has already secured her place in the runoff election.
By Juhi Doshi and Emily Chang
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman has overtaken Spencer Pratt in the closely watched Los Angeles mayoral primary election, with 83% of the expected vote in on Sunday night.
The two are vying for the second spot in the race, as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has already advanced to the runoff election.
At the time of publication, Raman currently has 27.1% of the vote and Pratt has 26.7%.
Despite reality TV star Spencer Pratt’s captivating social media presence and the significant online traction his campaign has garnered, the former "The Hills" star is now about 0.4 percentage points behind Raman.
Pratt, Bass, and Raman had been locked in a tight three-way race in the run-up to Election Day. In recent days, Raman steadily made gains over Pratt's initial lead over her on primary night.
“We look forward to winning a contest against an opponent who allows encampments near schools and fights against hiring more cops, yet is MIA on saving Hollywood jobs and fighting back when ICE invades LA,” Alex Stack, Bass campaign spokesperson, said in a statement.
In February, Raman had announced a surprise last-minute bid for L.A. mayor to run against Bass, whom she had previously endorsed.
Raman was first elected to City Council in 2020, becoming the first Asian American woman and first South Asian to serve on the City Council. She was also the first challenger in 17 years to defeat a sitting councilmember.
Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, there is no outright winner and the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff election in November.
