As our own Just Mindy reported on Sunday, Decision Desk HQ declared Democratic Socialist Nithya Raman the second-place finisher in the Los Angeles mayoral race, which is odd, considering she'd already conceded after a distant third-place showing behind Spencer Pratt on election night. But thousands more ballots came in by mail, and they all seemed to be for Raman. It will be a runoff between her and incumbent Karen Bass to see who can destroy Los Angeles faster.
A lot of people are questioning the massive ballot dump for Raman. Here's Elon Musk calling it fraud:
The level of fraud here is mind-blowing https://t.co/FkgZp26a7w
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 8, 2026
The Atlantic's Jonathan Chait thinks that Republicans' refusal to accept Pratt's loss is "bizarre and revealing."
The Republican Party’s refusal to accept the prospect of Spencer Pratt’s defeat in the L.A. mayor’s race is bizarre and revealing, @jonathanchait argues: https://t.co/k2bjhpiUGc
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) June 8, 2026
Is it bizarre? Is it? https://t.co/loXfKMZQxC
— Kira (@Kiradavis) June 8, 2026
Chait writes:
The refusal to accept the prospect of a Republican defeat in L.A. is bizarre and revealing. The race has not been called, but over the weekend, as more ballots were counted, Pratt fell into third place. Republicans had believed that L.A.’s struggles with public order would create an opening for their candidate. The right-of-center Free Press published seven hopeful stories with headlines such as “Inside Spencer Pratt’s Viral Video Machine” and “Heidi Montag Is Already LA’s First Lady.”
…
The first batch of votes counted showed Pratt in second place, a position that would qualify him for a runoff in November against the leading candidate, currently the incumbent, Karen Bass. But as more votes have trickled in, Pratt has dropped behind City Councilmember Nithya Raman; there are more votes to count, and the final result remains uncertain. This is a predictable dynamic for the state’s voting system; late-arriving mail-in ballots consistently skew Democratic.
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It's bizarre and revealing that Chait, writing in the left-of-center Atlantic, is calling The Free Press right-of-center.
He does have a point in that L.A. is a blue city. We all knew that Pratt had a fight on his hands. But these ballot drops …
The Atlantic’s Jonathan Chait’s refusal to accept the prospect of cheating in the L.A. mayor’s race is bizarre and revealing.
— Una Paloma 🇺🇸 (@Una_Paloma1) June 8, 2026
No, what is bizarre and revealing are those of your ilk who defend the CA voting sham. They literally pass legislation to make fraud possible in their voting process.
— Alt-Middle (@MiddleAlt38607) June 8, 2026
So you’re saying if it was a red state and a Dem candidate suddenly lost their lead over a Republican in the same manner you wouldn’t be crying foul? Give me a break.
— Dagny T (@needanespresso) June 8, 2026
Also quite revealing to obfuscate and defend grotesque fraud visible from space, no?
— Director Arketer (@DirectorArketer) June 8, 2026
I remember when you guys were trying the frame Vance as "weird".
— Martin (@mqulis) June 8, 2026
It didn't work.
The way California elections are handled is very bizarre.
— Billy Bob (@BillyBobCovnan) June 8, 2026
If things were the other way around and Spencer Pratt was suddenly surging ahead, you know they would be questioning the validity of the results.
— Arf McGarf (@ArfMcGarf) June 8, 2026
Gavin told us he has one… pic.twitter.com/QZWEqnw5mV
— casburryegg (@casburryegg4) June 8, 2026
Funny how they called it right after she took over 2nd in a miraculous comeback
— Gerald Koss (@GeraldKoss) June 8, 2026
Hillary Clinton still says her election was stolen from her, and nobody bats an eyelash. Isn't it bizarre and revealing that she and Stacey Abrams are election deniers and are still well respected in the Democratic Party?
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