Key facts
- Karen Bass is projected to advance to a runoff election for Los Angeles mayor.
- Spencer Pratt's lead over Nithya Raman in the LA mayoral race narrowed to 1 percentage point.
- Nithya Raman received 40.2% of 58,558 late-counted votes in the LA mayoral race.
- The incumbent Los Angeles city attorney appears to have been defeated in the primary.
- This is the first time an incumbent LA city attorney has been ousted in a primary in nearly a century.
- Incumbent LAUSD board members Rocio Rivas, Kelly Gonez, and Nick Melvoin are leading in early returns.
- City Controller Kenneth Mejia holds an early lead.
- Voters are casting ballots for eight of the 15 LA City Council seats.
- The race for LA City Council District 11 includes incumbent Park and challenger Malik.
- Two LA City Council seats are open due to term limits.
As California's primary election votes are tallied, incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is projected to advance to a runoff election in November. The race has been closely contested, with late-counted votes narrowing the gap between Spencer Pratt and Nithya Raman to just 1 percentage point. Raman secured 40.2% of the 58,558 late votes counted. Projections indicate that both Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman will advance to the November runoff, potentially setting up a contest between Raman and another candidate, as incumbent Mayor Karen Bass has already secured her spot. Betting markets for the LA mayoral race show significant activity, with over $5.2 million traded on Polymarket as of Tuesday morning. The top two vote-getters are expected to proceed to the general election if no candidate achieves over 50% of the vote.
In a significant development, the incumbent Los Angeles city attorney, Hydee Feldstein Soto, appears to have been defeated in the primary election. This outcome marks the first time an incumbent city attorney has been ousted in a primary in nearly a century, with sources attributing the loss to unclear messaging and a controversial term. Early returns also show incumbent Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board members Rocio Rivas, Kelly Gonez, and Nick Melvoin leading in their respective races. City Controller Kenneth Mejia holds an early lead in his contest, while City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto trails her challengers. Voters are also casting ballots for eight of the 15 LA City Council seats, including a race for District 11 between incumbent Park and challenger Malik. Two council seats are open due to term limits.
The broader political landscape in California includes the gubernatorial race, where odds markets have seen over $33 million in trading volume as ballots are counted, indicating market sentiment towards the leading candidate. The trend of reality television personalities launching political campaigns is also noted, with Spencer Pratt currently in second place in the Los Angeles mayoral race. Election results may take weeks to finalize.
Sources indicate that the incumbent Los Angeles city attorney's defeat is attributed to unclear messaging and a controversial term. The mayoral race is projected to go to a runoff if no candidate secures over 50% of the vote.