Key facts
- Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass is projected to advance to a November runoff election.
- 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.
- Over $5.2 million has been traded on Polymarket for the LA mayoral race betting market.
- The incumbent Los Angeles city attorney appears to have been defeated in the primary.
- This is the first time an incumbent 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 in his race.
- Voters are casting ballots for eight of the 15 L.A. City Council seats.
- Over $33 million in trading volume has been seen in the California gubernatorial race odds market.
Los Angeles is in the process of counting primary election ballots, with projections indicating that incumbent Mayor Karen Bass will advance to a runoff election in November. The mayoral race has been closely contested, with late-counted votes narrowing the gap between Spencer Pratt and Nithya Raman for the second runoff position. As of Wednesday, Pratt held a narrow lead over Raman, but this diminished to a 1 percentage point difference after the release of 58,558 late-counted votes, with Raman securing 40.2% of those ballots. Some projections, however, indicate that both Raman and incumbent Mayor Bass will advance to the November runoff. Betting markets for the LA mayoral race have seen significant activity, with over $5.2 million traded on Polymarket as of Tuesday morning, reflecting the competitive nature of the contest. In a notable 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 factors such as unclear messaging and a controversial term cited as potential reasons for the loss. Early returns also show incumbents leading in several Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) board races, including Rocio Rivas, Kelly Gonez, and Nick Melvoin. City Controller Kenneth Mejia holds an early lead in his race, while City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto trails challengers. Voters are also casting ballots for eight of the 15 L.A. City Council seats, with the race for District 11 featuring incumbent Park and challenger Malik. Two city council seats are open due to term limits. In the California gubernatorial race, odds markets show significant trading volume, exceeding $33 million, indicating market sentiment towards leading candidates. Steve Hilton is leading among candidates for California governor, ahead of Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer. The finalization of election results across California may take several weeks. The trend of reality television personalities launching political campaigns is also noted, with Spencer Pratt being one such candidate currently competing in the Los Angeles mayoral race.