Californians are still waiting for results in two of the state’s most-watched primaries, as the races for governor and Los Angeles mayor remain unresolved after a weekend that saw a shift in the battle for the second spot in the November mayoral election.
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman previously faced a six-percentage-point deficit to political newcomer Spencer Pratt, but she jumped ahead of Pratt by a razor-thin margin of less than one percentage point as of Sunday’s polling update. Last week, CBS News projected that incumbent L.A. Mayor Karen Bass will advance to the runoff.
Candidates are also still on standby in the state’s chaotic primary to succeed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is no longer eligible to hold the position after serving two terms. CBS News projected on Friday that Xavier Becerra, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary had advanced to the general election.
Under California’s primary system, the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of political affiliation.
If elected, Becerra would be California’s first Latino governor since Republican Romualdo Pacheco in 1875.
The wait to see who will face Becerra in the general election will continue through at least Monday, with little movement seen over the weekend as some counties did not update results.
Republican candidate and former Fox News host Steve Hilton remained in second place through the weekend after Becerra gained enough votes on Friday to overtake him.
Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, a Democrat, gained some ground in returns on Sunday, earning 21.5% of the vote to Hilton’s nearly 26%.
As the waiting game continued, Hilton used the time to criticize California’s government.
“The snail-like pace of the vote counting process in California is just another example of the incompetence and uselessness of the state government,” Hilton said on X.
Steyer’s campaign said it’s waiting for every ballot to be counted.
“This race is still too close to call,” his campaign website said. “We’re going to wait until every ballot is counted. We’re going to give democracy time to work.”
Bass is still waiting to see who she’ll face in the November election after reality TV star Spencer Pratt’s lead over L.A. City Councilwoman Nithya Raman disappeared on Sunday.
Pratt’s election night advantage diminished with each day of polling updates from the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder until Sunday, when Raman overtook him by less than a percent with 83% of votes counted.
As of Sunday night, Bass maintained just under 35% of votes, while Raman had 27.1% to Pratt’s 26.7%.
As the updated numbers rolled in, Pratt took to social media to question the late surge in votes that were in favor of Raman. Bass, on the other hand, issued a statement through her campaign targeting the councilwoman.
“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,” the statement said.
Raman did not comment on the most recent numbers, but while speaking to supporters on election night, she remarked on what she called her “long shot” bid for mayor.
“No one knew who I was; I was the last to enter this race,” Raman said. “We had no institutional backing. But what we did have was a vision for Los Angeles.”
According to the California Secretary of State, counties have 30 days to count ballots on a provisional basis. Mail-in votes must be postmarked no later than Election Day, and they must be counted as long as they are received within seven days.
Here are when some major population centers expect their next ballot drops:
