With progressive candidate Nithya Raman overtaking former reality star Spencer Pratt in the ongoing Los Angeles mayoral vote count, Pratt and his supporters—including President Donald Trump—have been sharing conspiracy theories on social media.
Pratt's Baseless Claims
On Sunday evening, as Raman's lead became clear, Pratt posted on X: "A net swing of more than 43,000 votes since Tuesday.. 43,000, huh? Where have I seen that number before...?" He retweeted a Fox 11 LA report showing Raman leading by about that many votes. Alongside a photo of a report on LA's homeless population—also about 43,000—he added, "Probably nothing."
While Pratt held an early lead on election night, Raman has surged as mail-in ballots are counted. As of Monday, Raman holds second place with 27.1% of votes counted, while Pratt has 26.7%. She is likely to face incumbent Karen Bass in the nonpartisan general election in November.
Trump Joins In
Trump, who endorsed Pratt, wrote on Truth Social: "Not possible for Spencer Pratt to have lost the L.A. runoffs after the big lead he had. 3rd World Nation. Rigged Elections! Now they'll be working on great guy Steve Hilton. Won't have results for, possibly, TWO WEEKS, according to officials." Hilton is a Republican candidate in California's gubernatorial race.
Vote counting in California typically takes longer because about 80% of voters cast mail-in ballots. CNN data analyst Harry Enten called the rigged election talk the "dumbest conspiracy theory" he'd ever heard, noting that if establishment Democrats had rigged the election, they would have favored Pratt to give Bass a better chance. Polls show Bass would beat Pratt by 18 points but could lose to Raman. Enten added that Trump's endorsement hurt Pratt, as LA voters largely disapprove of Trump and only 15% are registered Republicans.
More Conspiracy Theories
Far-right commentator Benny Johnson falsely claimed Raman conceded on election night and was in a "historically insurmountable" third place. "This was before 'the machine' took over," he wrote on X. Raman did not concede; she said, "Many thousands of votes may be counted in the days ahead, and we may not get an answer we like." Elon Musk echoed Johnson's conspiracy theory, writing, "They forgot to inform their puppet."
Mail-in ballots will be accepted until Tuesday, and counting must be certified within 30 days.
