CA primary election results: Nithya Raman advances to November runoff for LA mayor with Karen Bass

Last updated: Tuesday, June 9, 2026 5:25AM GMT
ABC7 Eyewitness News

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- With California primary election results still coming in, we now know who will be on the November ballot for Los Angeles mayor. Meanwhile, the competitive race for California governor continues.

In the L.A. mayor's race, Karen Bass and Nithya Raman will advance to the November runoff election, AP News projects. Raman overtook Spencer Pratt for second place as ballots continued to be counted, according to the latest figures.

In the California governor's race, Xavier Becerra advanced to the general election. It was not yet clear who Becerra would face in the general election. His top rivals came down to Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News commentator backed by President Donald Trump, and Democrat Tom Steyer, a billionaire climate activist who poured $215 million of his own money into his campaign.

A lot is at stake, and we're breaking everything down.

Here's a look at all the races and where everyone stands with up-to-date live election results:

Este blog se ofrece en Español, aquí.

ABC News contributed to this report.

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Jun 08, 2026, 11:33 PM GMT

Becerra maintains lead, gap narrows between 2nd and 3rd in CA governor's race

In the latest batch of election results on Monday, Democrat Xavier Becerra is still in the lead in the race for California governor. Meanwhile, the gap between second and third place continues to narrow.

With approximately 76% of the expected votes counted on Monday, Becerra maintained 27% of the vote. Republican Steve Hilton was behind him with 25% of the vote, followed by Democrat Tom Steyer in third place with 22% of the vote.

Between Sunday and Monday, Hilton dropped by one percentage point.

Previously, Hilton led the pack, but when more election results came in last week, Becerra rose to first place, and AP News projected he would advance to the November election. It is still undecided which additional candidate will advance.

As of Monday, there is about a 138,500-vote difference between Becerra and Hilton, and a 250,600-vote difference between Hilton and Steyer.

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Jun 08, 2026, 5:41 PM GMT

Despite Raman's position, LA mayor's race remains fluid

Nithya Raman has overtaken Spencer Pratt in the race for Los Angeles mayor, a shift that came gradually over the five days since Election Day.

Nithya Raman has overtaken Spencer Pratt in the race for Los Angeles mayor, a shift that came gradually over the five days since Election Day.

"What you see is that they are counting votes in batches of how they arrived by mail," explained USC Annenberg Media Center Director Christina Bellantoni, who spoke with Eyewitness News on Sunday.

"It is totally normal that as batches of votes come in, they start to overwhelmingly favor one person because of literally the date that they were mailed," she said.

Raman's campaign responded to the latest count with a brief statement: "We are encouraged by the latest vote count and remain grateful to the thousands of Angelenos who have powered this campaign."

Pratt's campaign did not issue a formal statement following the updated results. Over the weekend, however, Pratt posted on social media suggesting, without evidence, that voter fraud may have affected the outcome.

Despite Raman's current position, the race remains fluid as counting continues.

"There's definitely a likelihood that Pratt comes back into that second place position before all the votes are counted and there is also a strong possibility he continues to stay where he is and Raman continues to add votes because of the dates of the votes that we are seeing as counted now," Bellantoni said.

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Jun 08, 2026, 2:43 AM GMT

Trump storms off interview, pushes claims of election fraud in CA

As votes from last Tuesday's primary election are still being counted, President Donald Trump is pushing claims of election fraud in California.

As votes from last Tuesday's primary election are still being counted, President Donald Trump is pushing claims of election fraud in California.

He stormed off during a pre-taped interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" when he was questioned about his unsubstantiated claims.

"The Republicans are doing well in California," Correspondent Kristen Welker said.

"In California... no, they're not. They're dropping fast because it's a rigged election. Let me tell you. It's four days, and they aren't even close with coming up with..." Trump said.

"That's how they count the votes in California," Welker replied.

"You know why they're doing that? Because they are cheating on the election," Trump said.

"Do you have evidence to support that?" Welker asked.

"All I have to do is look. All I have to do is look," Trump replied.

"But, that's not evidence," Welker pushed back.

"And I listen. And I listen to people. And let's see what happens," Trump said.

"But, sir, that's not evidence. That's how they count the votes in California," Welker replied.

"Do you think it's appropriate that they have an election and five days later they are nowhere close to picking a winner?" Trump questioned.

"State and local officials acknowledge they are slow, they are urging the votes..." Welker said.

"No, they are crooked," Trump interjected.

The president also went on to accuse Welker of being crooked before walking out mid-interview.

Election experts say claims of widespread voter fraud now and in the presidential elections have never been proven.

The U.S. Attorney's office is investigating.

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Jun 08, 2026, 12:35 AM GMT

Becerra maintains lead, Steyer begins to close gap in CA governor's race

Tom Steyer is slowly beginning to close the gap between second and third place in the governor's race while Xavier Becerra maintains his lead.

A new batch of votes was counted on Sunday evening, showing Democrat Xavier Becerra is still in the lead in the race for California governor. Meanwhile, Democrat Tom Steyer continues to steadily gain votes.

With approximately 72% of the expected votes counted on Sunday, Becerra maintained 27% of the vote. Republican Steve Hilton was right behind him with 26% of the vote, followed by Steyer in third place with 22% of the vote.

While the governor's race hasn't seen a ton of movement, Steyer's vote total did increase by 1 percentage point compared to Saturday.

Previously, Hilton was in the lead, but when more election results came in on Friday, Becerra rose to first place, and AP News projected he would advance to the November election.

As of Sunday, there is about a 95,000-vote difference between Becerra and Hilton.

It is still undecided which additional candidate will advance.