Nithya Raman Overtakes Spencer Pratt in Race for L.A. Mayor
Nithya Raman pulled into second place in the race to see who will face Mayor Karen Bass in November. There are more votes to be counted.

Mail-in ballots continue to be counted in the race to determine which candidates will square off in Los Angeles’s Mayoral election, as California state law allows them to be received for seven days after Election Day (Tuesday, June 2), and they are verified before being counted. But a late surge for Los Angeles city councilmember Nitiya Raman, a progressive Democrat challenging incumbent mayor and fellow Democrat, Karen Bass, is driving right-wingers nuts.They were hoping that Republican Spencer Pratt, known for his time on reality TV show The Hills, would perform well enough to finish in the top two, allowing him to advance to November’s general election under California’s jungle primary rules. After initial reports last week showed him behind Bass in second place, his right-wing supporters thought his advancement was in the bag.But ballot returns for the past few days now show him falling into a distant third, and MAGA supporters from far beyond L.A. are crying conspiracy. Several conservative influencers and pundits are calling Raman’s surge “impossible,” attacking the results as illegitimate and calling L.A. Democrats “cheaters.” X user DC Draino said the results showed “Insane levels of fraud.” Republican Representative Abe Hamadeh, whose district is in faraway Arizona, said “the steal is blatant.” Elon Musk spent his Monday morning amplifying conspiracy theories about the results.President Trump has also weighed in, calling the mayor race a “rigged election” in a Truth Social post Monday morning. But all of that whining belies the fact that the last polls before Election Day predicted Bass and Raman finishing first and second, respectively. And late arriving mail-in ballots tend to favor younger, more left-leaning voters, especially in a solidly left-leaning city like Los Angeles. The right will just have to realize that L.A. voters are Democrats who aren’t going to be taken in by a reality TV star.
Nithya Raman pulled into second place in the race to see who will face Mayor Karen Bass in November. There are more votes to be counted.
I was addicted to Trump’s elixir of rage and fear for years. It’s finally losing its power over others
Much of the criticism of President Donald Trump on the right is coming from Never Trump conservatives and libertarians, many of whom were scathing opponents of the MAGA movement from the get-go. Attorney George Conway, The Washington Post's George Will, MS NOW's Joe Scarbrough and The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson were so anti-Trump that they left the Republican Party altogether. But Rich Logis' opposition to Trump is coming from a much different place. In Salon, the founder of Leaving MAGA details his journey from hardcore Trump supporter to Trump opponent — and his ongoing efforts to help others who have become disillusioned with the president and the MAGA movement."From 2015 until 2022," Logis explains in Salon, "I was a hardcore MAGA activist and pundit. I spoke at pro-Trump events. I wrote numerous op-eds, and even hosted a podcast dedicated to promoting all things Trump. I loved that he wanted to burn down the established political order. I felt that neither major political party cared for the working person. When Trump ran the first time and was elected against what seemed like impossible odds, it was exhilarating and new. It was also a communal experience. MAGA became my second family."The Leaving MAGA founder argues that Trump opponents shouldn't dismiss his supporters as a lost cause, but he emphasizes that quitting MAGA is a real struggle for those who have been true believers and are now questioning the movement."When I tell people I founded an organization that helps people leave Donald Trump‘s MAGA movement," Logis notes, "the response is often a derisive snort. 'Why waste your time on them?' people sometimes say. 'They're a lost cause. It's a cult.' I firmly believe that kind of dismissive contempt is misguided. In fact, I know it, on a profound personal level…. Recognizing that MAGA provides a strong sense of community is key to understanding its appeal."Logis continues, "Another integral element of MAGA's power is the pro-Trump media echo chamber. For several years, I got my information almost exclusively from Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and Breitbart. Everything outside the echo chamber, to my community, was Democratic Party propaganda…. It's hard to overstate the formidable power of believing the MAGA media's daily lies and distortions. I was addicted to rage and fear. Even though Trump had been elected president, I lived in a perpetual state of despair, desperation and paranoia."Logis cites anti-vaxxer propaganda during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, Texas as two of the things that led to the creation of Leaving MAGA in 2022. And he is seeing others going through the same struggles he went through. "On the eve of America's 250th birthday, our democracy is in crisis," Logis warns. "I firmly believe the key to resolving it lies partly in forming unlikely but necessary alliances. Those who leave MAGA are worthy of our grace, and can become stewards of our democracy. We cannot afford to shun them."
As California continues to count ballots, Republicans spread conspiracy theories that something shady is unfolding in the state. California's large population has about 80 percent of its voters who vote by mail, and the state counts all ballots that were postmarked on or before election day. They give one week for the ballots to arrive. Republicans think that because Spencer Pratt was initially in the lead and has now fallen to third place, something is afoot. Pratt was a boyfriend of a former reality TV star. In reality, only about 12 percent of voters identify as registered Republicans, the County Registrar said in a report. So, Pratt's numbers are impressive and show that he managed to encourage not only GOP voters but also other groups. Nithya Raman has pulled ahead of Pratt, however, which isn't what Mayor Karen Bass wants to see.CNN data analyst Harry Enten explained that Bass likely wanted Pratt to do well because she trounces him in the general election. Still, Republicans insist that Democrats are stealing votes from Pratt. "This is the dumbest conspiracy theory I've ever heard!" Enten exclaimed. The last person Bass wants to run against is another Democrat.""The democratic establishment and Karen Bass wanted Spencer Pratt in the runoff. They don't want any part of Nithya Raman. Why is that? Because — just take a look here. Okay, mayor. Mayor, runoff polls, Bass versus opponent versus Pratt," he explained. "Bass would have crushed Pratt by 18 points. That's what the polling showed. Look at how she does against Nithya Raman. On the other hand, Raman is ahead by four points. Bass has a real race on her hands, if, in fact, Ramen is the one who advances. And of course, the Democratic establishment is backing Karen Bass, but versus Spencer Pratt, she was crushing him. She wanted to face Pratt.""And that's why these conspiracy theories. Simply put, make no sense, people," he added. Bass' favorability numbers are also considerably lower than Raman's. Enten and co-host John Berman discussed President Donald Trump's hope for Pratt, which Enten called unsurprising. But Trump has dragged Pratt down. "Los Angeles City voters, Trump's net approval rating in the city of Los Angeles is about 55 points underwater," Enten said. "It's so difficult — 55 points underwater and then registered as a Republican."It was already a tough climb for Pratt, but Enten explained that there's simply no chance for a Republican. "The only way [Bass] could lose is if she goes up against another Democrat. And you see it right here, very simply put up by four, no wonder. And that is where the results right now are moving a Ramen versus Bass general election, which I said at the top, an absolute nightmare for the Democratic establishment. And Karen Bass, they would have much preferred Spencer," he closed. - YouTube www.youtube.com
The liberal wing of the party is now the majority wing
President Trump blasted the Los Angeles Mayor election on Monday after Democratic City Councilwoman Nithya Raman overtook highly popular Republican Spencer Pratt in the ongoing total vote count, which remains ongoing six days after the election. As The Gateway Pundit reported on Sunday, Nithya Raman was projected to advance to a runoff election with incumbent Mayor Karen Bass after another fraudulent vote result dump gave her a lead over Spencer Pratt. The post NEW: “Rigged Election!” – Trump Responds to Nithya Raman’s Impossible Comeback in LA Mayor’s Race appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
With Donald Trump's endorsed candidate facing a potentially embarrassing primary Tuesday, some of the loudest voices in MAGA world are rooting for him to lose — and they're not whispering about it.On Monday's edition of Steve Bannon's War Room, Bannon and Noel Fritsch — a conservative campaign consultant working for GOP Senate candidate Mark Lynch — gleefully torched Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on the eve of South Carolina's Republican primary, warning the four-term incumbent could fall below the 50% threshold required to avoid a runoff."This would be the most humiliating thing that would ever happen to Lindsey Graham," Bannon said.Trump formally endorsed Graham in April and, with the primary hours away, announced a last-minute tele-rally Monday evening in a scramble to push Graham over the line. It didn't stop his own base from celebrating the incumbent's struggles.Fritsch, who identifies himself as a consultant for Lynch — a Greenville businessman self-funding his challenge to the tune of $5 million — was withering."Lindsey Graham is an embarrassment," Fritsch said. "These phony — they're counterfeit Republicans. It's not even fair to use the word Republican in the same sentence with a lot of these guys. They are going to sell out the country to the lowest bidder, and everybody knows it now, Steve."He added: "We can't find people in South Carolina who really like Lindsey Graham."Fritsch also accused Fox News of freezing Lynch out of coverage while giving Graham a platform, calling the network "the enemy of the people.""He's on Fox all the time," Bannon agreed.If Graham fails to clear 50% on Tuesday, a runoff would be held on June 23. Fritsch called the prospect "a huge, cataclysmic event for the RINOs.""Dump Lindsey," he said.
President Trump early Monday morning demanded that Israel and Iran stop “shooting,” after a weekend that saw the sides trading strikes. Iran shortly thereafter announced an end to hostilities, which it says were resumed when Israel attacked Lebanon. Trump later said in a Truth Social post that while both sides sought a ceasefire, “Final negotiations…