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Spencer Pratt, here at the American Music Awards 2025, thought he had a good chance in the race for mayor of L.A. (archive picture)
Bild: IMAGO
The election for mayor of Los Angeles is causing an uproar in the MAGA camp: because the Trump-backed candidate Spencer Pratt, who had a good chance of winning, crashed out, there are fears of electoral fraud.
The MAGA camp in the USA is furious. And once again they smell election fraud, from the grassroots to the US president. The fact that Donald Trump's supporters are so outraged is due to the primaries for the mayoralty in Los Angeles.
In the run-up to the election and after some of the votes had been counted, it became clear that the incumbent Karen Bass would run for the Democrats against the Trump-backed Republican Spencer Pratt in the run-off election in November.
Pratt, who once rose to fame on reality TV, appeared to benefit in his election campaign from the frustration of some residents who criticized the slow rebuilding after the fires in early 2025. The chances for the L.A.-born Maga rebel were not bad.
However, as the postal votes continued to be counted, Pratt's share shrank further and further - until he even slipped to third place, which would have put him out of the race.
With 83 percent of the votes counted, Democratic Councilwoman Nithya Raman (27.1 percent) is now just ahead of Pratt (26.7 percent). Incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass leads the field with 34.7 percent. Under California election law, only the two strongest candidates advance to the main election, regardless of party affiliation.
Unsurprisingly, this development in the counting thriller was followed by accusations that the election was not being conducted properly: "Has anyone been following the fraudulent election taking place in California?" raged Donald Trump via Truth Social - and without evidence.
It was "impossible" for Pratt to lose the primary after such a big lead, Trump said in another social media post: "Third World State! Rigged election," the US president wrote.
Prominent heads of the MAGA movement joined in the criticism, as reported by "Newsweek", among others. Conservative influencer Nick Sortor spoke on X of an "absolutely rigged" election, while the pro-Trump channel "MAGA Voice" called for the alleged theft in the election to be stopped.
🚨 JUST IN: Socialist Nithya Raman has OVERTAKEN Spencer Pratt in the Los Angeles mayoral election, despite Pratt’s previously sizable lead, per VoteHub
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 8, 2026
Absolutely RIGGED. This needs to be THOROUGHLY investigated.
Raman has conveniently received a WILDLY disproportionate amount… pic.twitter.com/Zbc5u6xGoY
Political commentator Clay Travis questioned the validity of the absentee ballots for Raman: "Five days after the L.A. election, Spencer Pratt falls to third place and a woman who hardly anyone voted for in person, Nithya Raman, completely dominated the absentee ballot to come in second. No one with a functioning brain believes these results."
Former Fox News host Monica Crowley also spoke of "another election theft in broad daylight" and called for the "SAVE America Act" to be passed.
The tensions also erupted on national television. During an interview on the NBC program "Meet the Press", Trump clashed with presenter Kristen Welker over his allegations of fraud. When she asked for evidence to support his claim that Republicans in California are rapidly losing ground because of a rigged election, Trump replied: "I just have to look."
When Welker pointed out that the authorities concede the slowness of the process and that this was normal election practice in California, Trump interrupted her and attacked the broadcaster.
"No, they're fraudulent, just like you're fraudulent, your press is fraudulent. Meet the Press is fraudulent," he attacked the presenter: "You're either fraudulent or you're stupid - you're playing right into their hands. You know these elections are rigged, your station knows they're rigged. You are a one-sided, deceitful broadcaster. Let's call it a day, because I've had enough." Trump then cut the interview short.
California Governor Gavin Newsom strongly denied the allegations. Trump's accusations of fraud were commented on X with the words: "There is no bigger sore loser in the country. Go back to bed, grandpa!"
Spencer Pratt himself hinted at irregularities by linking a report of a shift of over 43,000 votes with statistics on homelessness in Los Angeles - according to which there are also around 43,000 homeless people in the city. A connection for which there is no evidence whatsoever.
According to "Newsweek", the fact that vote counting in California often takes days or weeks is due to the state's liberal election laws: every eligible voter automatically receives an absentee ballot. In addition, ballots are still counted even if they are postmarked on election day and are received by the authorities up to seven days later.
Signatures must also be verified and provisional registrations checked before counting. While critics argue that this makes voters feel insecure, supporters emphasize that the procedure ensures that every valid vote is counted.
