Spencer Pratt Led Early Los Angeles Mayor Results—But Final Vote Count Delivered a Dramatic Turnaround

Karen Bass Advanced to the November Runoff, but the Battle for Second Place Changed as Thousands of Additional Ballots Were Counted in California’s June 2 Primary

What initially looked like a possible political breakthrough for Republican Spencer Pratt in Los Angeles took an unexpected turn as election officials continued counting ballots from California’s June 2, 2026, primary.

For several days, the former reality television personality appeared to be on track to face incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in November.

Early returns placed Pratt ahead of Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, raising the possibility of a Republican reaching the final stage of the city’s mayoral election.

But the race was far from over.

As additional mail-in and other outstanding ballots were processed, Raman began narrowing the gap.

What had appeared to be a substantial advantage for Pratt gradually disappeared.

By the time Los Angeles County certified the results on June 26, Raman had moved into second place, securing the opportunity to challenge Bass in the November 3 runoff.

The final outcome illustrated why early election returns, particularly in a state with extensive voting by mail, do not always predict which candidates will advance.

Karen Bass Finished First but Did Not Win the Primary Outright

Incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass entered the 2026 election seeking another four-year term.

Under the city’s nonpartisan primary system, a candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote can win outright.

If no candidate reaches that threshold, the two candidates with the highest vote totals advance to a runoff election.

Bass led the June 2 primary but did not receive a majority.

Her first-place finish secured her position in the November election, while the identity of her opponent remained uncertain during the initial counting period.

Spencer Pratt Initially Appeared Headed for the November Runoff

Spencer Pratt, known to television audiences through MTV’s The Hills, entered the Los Angeles mayoral race as a political newcomer.

A registered Republican running in the city’s officially nonpartisan election, Pratt attracted attention partly because of his celebrity background.

He also made the city’s response to the devastating January 2025 wildfires an important part of his campaign.

Pratt and his family lost their home in the fires, an experience that shaped his public criticism of city leadership.

When the first major batches of ballots were counted, Pratt stood in second place behind Bass.

That position generated considerable interest because Los Angeles has not elected a Republican mayor in decades.

However, second place in an incomplete count did not guarantee a position in the runoff.

The Early Vote Totals That Generated Headlines

During the first days after the June 2 election, reports showed Bass leading with approximately 35% of the vote.

Pratt followed with roughly 30%, while Raman held approximately 23%.

One early snapshot listed the following totals:

• Karen Bass: 183,701 votes, approximately 35%.
• Spencer Pratt: 157,116 votes, approximately 29.9%.
• Nithya Raman: 119,809 votes, approximately 22.8%.

Those numbers represented an incomplete count, not the certified election results.

At that stage, tens of thousands of additional ballots remained to be processed.

Although Pratt held a sizable advantage over Raman, the outstanding ballots left open the possibility that the rankings could change.

Why California’s Election Results Took Days to Develop

California’s election process includes extensive voting by mail, and not every eligible ballot is counted on election night.

Election officials must process ballots that arrive within the legally permitted period, verify eligibility, and review certain ballots requiring additional attention.

Provisional ballots and ballots with issues that voters are legally permitted to correct can also require additional processing.

These procedures help determine which votes are eligible to be included in the final count.

As a result, election-night standings may differ substantially from certified results.

A delayed final tally does not, by itself, indicate wrongdoing.

In a close contest, even a relatively modest shift in the distribution of outstanding ballots can change which candidate finishes second.

Nithya Raman Began Closing the Gap

As election officials released additional results, Raman started receiving a larger share of the newly counted votes than Pratt.

Her deficit narrowed over successive updates.

By June 4, reporting from the Los Angeles Times showed that Raman had reduced Pratt’s advantage to approximately 33,000 votes.

Although Pratt remained ahead at that moment, the trend demonstrated that the race was still competitive.

Further updates continued to alter the standings.

On June 7, Raman moved narrowly ahead of Pratt, changing the direction of the contest.

The reversal showed how the composition of later-counted ballots can affect the final rankings in a multi-candidate election.

The Certified Results Confirmed a Different Runoff Matchup

On June 26, Los Angeles County certified the primary election results.

The final vote totals confirmed that Bass and Raman, not Pratt, would advance to November.

Certified Los Angeles Mayoral Primary Results — June 26, 2026

Candidate	Votes	Vote Share	Result
Karen Bass	292,593	34.27%	Advanced
Nithya Raman	247,781	29.02%	Advanced
Spencer Pratt	217,977	25.53%	Eliminated

Raman ultimately finished 29,804 votes ahead of Pratt.

Although Pratt had led her in the initial count, the later-counted ballots were sufficient to reverse their positions.

Bass remained in first place throughout the process.

What the Result Meant for Spencer Pratt

Pratt’s campaign attracted substantial attention because of his television background and his criticism of Los Angeles leadership.

His early second-place position suggested he had assembled a significant base of support.

However, the certified results left him outside the top two.

He finished with more than 217,000 votes, approximately one-quarter of all votes cast in the mayoral primary.

That represented a substantial showing for a political newcomer, but it was not enough to secure a runoff position.

His campaign ended at the primary stage.

Who Is Nithya Raman?

Nithya Raman is a Los Angeles City Councilmember whose political work has focused on issues including housing, homelessness, and city government accountability.

She entered the mayoral contest as a challenger to Bass, offering voters an alternative approach to several major local issues.

Raman’s campaign emphasized housing policy and stronger oversight of programs addressing homelessness.

Her advance to the runoff created a contest between two candidates with experience in Los Angeles government.

Both are Democrats, although the mayoral election itself is officially nonpartisan.

What Issues Are Shaping the Los Angeles Mayor’s Race?

The 2026 mayoral election has unfolded amid significant debate over Los Angeles’s future.

Homelessness remains a central concern, with candidates disagreeing over how effectively existing programs have addressed the crisis.

Housing affordability is another major issue for residents facing high rents and home prices.

The aftermath of the January 2025 wildfires has also influenced the campaign, particularly questions involving emergency preparedness, rebuilding, and city leadership.

Other concerns include public safety, the local economy, and the challenges facing the entertainment industry.

These issues provide the broader context for the election beyond the changing vote totals.

Why the Election-Night Lead Was Not the Final Answer

One of the most important lessons from the primary is that an early lead is not equivalent to a certified victory.

Pratt’s initial advantage over Raman was real within the ballots counted at that time.

But it did not represent the full electorate.

As additional eligible ballots were included, Raman’s share of the vote increased enough to move her ahead.

Election officials ultimately certified the complete tally, establishing the official order of finish.

That process is especially important in close races where the difference between advancing and being eliminated can depend on ballots counted several days after election night.

Were There Problems With the Vote Count?

The extended counting period prompted online questions and allegations about the election process.

Some social media posts also circulated misleading claims about individual ballot updates.

For example, a claim that Pratt received no votes in a particular batch of approximately 24,000 ballots was later examined by PolitiFact.

The fact-check found that the claim resulted from a temporary mismatch in the timing of reported election data, not evidence that Pratt had received zero votes in that batch.

It is important to distinguish documented reporting errors or delays in public data displays from evidence of improper ballot counting.

The certified results remain the official record of the primary.

Why the November Runoff Matters

Because no candidate received more than 50% of the primary vote, the mayoral contest advanced to a runoff scheduled for November 3, 2026.

Voters will choose between incumbent Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman.

The election will determine who serves as mayor during a period of continuing challenges involving housing, homelessness, public services, and economic development.

The primary demonstrated that both candidates have meaningful support among Los Angeles voters.

However, the primary results alone do not establish how voters will decide the runoff.

Final Thoughts: A Race That Changed as the Ballots Were Counted

The June 2 Los Angeles mayoral primary produced one of the more closely watched vote-counting developments in California’s 2026 election season.

Karen Bass finished first but fell short of the majority needed to win outright.

Spencer Pratt initially appeared positioned to face her in November, leading Nithya Raman by a substantial margin in early returns.

But as additional ballots were counted, Raman narrowed the gap, moved ahead, and ultimately secured second place.

The certified results confirmed Bass with 34.27%, Raman with 29.02%, and Pratt with 25.53%.

Instead of the Bass-Pratt contest suggested by early returns, Los Angeles voters will choose between Bass and Raman in the November 3 runoff.

The outcome serves as a reminder that incomplete election results can change significantly before certification.

For readers following the contest, the essential distinction is clear: Pratt’s early lead was a temporary snapshot, while Raman’s advancement is the confirmed primary result.