SouthernWorldwide.com – As of Thursday morning, several closely-watched races in California’s primary election results remained undecided, with the gubernatorial and Los Angeles mayoral races among them.
Republican Steve Hilton was leading the gubernatorial race with approximately 28% of the vote. Following him were the top two Democratic candidates: former Biden official Xavier Becerra with 25% and billionaire Tom Steyer with 20%.
The Los Angeles mayoral race was also too close to call, though incumbent Mayor Karen Bass had secured her place in the November general election. Her challenger, Spencer Pratt, was in second place early Wednesday morning, but a significant portion of the ballots were still uncounted.
California law dictates that only the two candidates with the highest vote totals in state primaries advance to the general election in November, irrespective of their political party affiliation.
HILTON, BECERRA, IN THE LEAD WITH VOTES STILL BEING COUNTED IN BATTLE FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR
By Wednesday morning, Pratt had garnered 30% of the vote, with left-wing candidate Nithya Raman trailing at 22%.
Pratt expressed his confidence on Wednesday night, stating, “This idea that I don’t represent Democrats and Republicans and independents — anyone that’s just a Los Angeles citizen that wants basic quality of life — I’ll be able to show that in five months.”
He added, “I’m an Angeleno who said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and I had to step up. I’m going to show everybody that I’m their mayor.”
RNC RAILS AGAINST CALIFORNIA’S LATE MAIL-IN BALLOT COUNTING AMID NATIONAL LITIGATION: ‘IT IS ABSURD’
California has frequently faced criticism for its slow election system, with key races often remaining undecided for days after election day, which was June 2.
Nate Silver, a prominent political data analyst, commented on X on Tuesday afternoon, “The fact that California elections often can’t be resolved for weeks is kind of insane and not common in other electoral systems around the world.” He further stated, “Like honestly ‘it’s going to take us several weeks to tell you who won the election’ is failed state s— and should be much more stigmatized. The fact that it’s tolerated is bad too a textbook example of learned helplessness.”
The extended vote counting in California is attributed to the state’s extensive reliance on mail-in voting and its comprehensive verification process. California law mandates that every registered voter receives a mail-in ballot, and ballots arriving at election offices up to a week after election day are considered valid, provided they were postmarked by election day.
In closely contested primaries where a narrow margin of votes determines the outcome, this procedure can lead to voters waiting for weeks to learn who will advance to the general election.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, an independent who caucuses with the GOP, wrote on X, “Every other state manages to count its votes in a somewhat timely manner. California’s inability to competently handle the basic administration of democracy is embarrassing. It’s also indicative of why our state has so many other problems.”
