California Elections: Key Updates on Mayoral and Gubernatorial Races

Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV star, holds a shrinking lead over Councilwoman Nithya Raman in the Los Angeles mayoral race. Meanwhile, Republican Steve Hilton continues to outpace Democratic rivals Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer in the gubernatorial race. The recent Los Angeles wildfires have placed California’s elections under national scrutiny, reflecting on the prospects of progressive leadership.

Pratt, a Republican, trails incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass in the competition to move forward to the November general election. Bass has already secured enough votes to guarantee her advancement. As of the latest updates, Pratt leads Raman by nearly 6%, with 163,549 votes compared to Raman’s 130,473, based on figures from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder and the County Clerk.

Fox News Digital’s analysis of archived Los Angeles vote totals shows that Raman gained more than 10,000 votes recently, while Pratt gained fewer than 6,000. The previous count showed Pratt at 157,116 votes and Raman at 119,809.

Raman, who once had the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America, runs against Mayor Bass in the primary challenge.

In the governor’s race, Hilton maintains a slight edge over ex-Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra. Hilton has reportedly amassed 1,533,435 votes, with Becerra at 1,470,100 as of Friday afternoon, according to the California Secretary of State. Steyer trails with a total of 1,139,517 votes.

The gubernatorial contest, like the mayoral race, requires any candidate without a majority of over 50% to advance to a November runoff. Candidates will progress based on vote totals if needed.

Election outcomes could take weeks to finalize. While California’s polls closed on June 2, official results might not be available until later. For instance, the 2024 election results were certified in December, 38 days post-election.

A 2025 bipartisan bill mandates non-problematic votes must be counted within 13 days. California leads the U.S. in mail-in ballots with 81% participation in 2024, significantly higher than the national average of 43% during the same year, as per U.S. Census Bureau data.