Days after California’s primary, Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt are still close. They fight for second place in Los Angeles’ mayoral race. The winner faces Karen Bass in November. Karen Bass is the current mayor. On Sunday, the race was still too close to call.

Raman is a city council member. She is a progressive. She moves ahead of Pratt for the first time since voting ends. She gains votes in every update since Tuesday. She now leads Pratt by about 3,100 votes. That is 0.4 points. Less than 150,000 ballots still wait to be counted.

California counts ballots slowly. That helps explain the changing results. Mail ballots count if they have a postmark by Election Day. They must also arrive within seven days. Los Angeles counts ballots in the order they arrive. So later returns come later.

Election data shows many Democrats send back mail ballots late. That helps Bass and Raman. Bass’s lead over Pratt grows to nearly 8 points since election night. Pratt was on “The Hills.” He is a former reality TV personality. He is a Republican. Bass and Raman are Democrats in a nonpartisan race.

The slow count also fuels fraud claims from some Republicans. President Donald Trump is one of them. They have no evidence. He says his Justice Department will investigate. Trump also says Democrats try to push Pratt and Republican Steve Hilton out of the top two in other races.

If Raman moves ahead, she faces Bass from the left. She promises faster housing building. She also promises more entertainment jobs. She also promises better city services. Pratt would offer a more conservative challenge. He focuses on homelessness. He also criticizes Bass’s response to the January 2025 Pacific Palisades wildfire.