As Spencer Pratt loses the primary, GOP lawmakers follow the president’s lead in calling California primaries a ‘Rigged Election’

As California counts the votes for the Los Angeles Mayoral race, President Trump is reportedly leading Republican lawmakers in making unfounded claims of fraud. This surge in rhetoric comes as his preferred candidate, reality television personality Spencer Pratt, was recently knocked out of the runoff for Los Angeles mayor. The Hill reports that these allegations are gaining traction because of the state’s notoriously slow, but thorough, voting system.

The two candidates are competing for a chance to challenge the incumbent mayor, Karen Bass. On election night, Pratt had held a significant lead, but that gap closed steadily as more ballots were processed. However, according to KQED, Raman gained enough votes by Sunday evening to move into second place, achieving 27.12 percent of the vote compared to Pratt’s 26.69 percent.

In response, Trump took to Truth Social on Monday morning, writing, “No way this could have happened. Rigged Election!” he wrote. Per The Hill, this reaction fits a pattern of behavior where he has repeatedly challenged election results that do not favor his preferred outcomes. In a Sunday interview with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press, Trump reportedly stormed out after she pushed back against his claims that the California gubernatorial primary was rigged. 

GOP and Trump have tied their claims to mail-in ballots and California’s vote-counting process

Trump tied the state’s slow counting process as a way for Democrats to steal the election. “Do you know why they’re doing that? Because they’re cheating on the election.” Welker, however, stated that there was no evidence of foul play, and this is the process California always follows.

Of the lawmakers currently supporting Trump’s claims, one is Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-Az), who posted on X, “This is a joke. Everyone sees what’s happening. When will Republicans recognize the urgency and pass legislation to fix this broken system before Americans lose faith in our elections?” 

Similarly, Katie Miller, a former communications director for former Vice President Mike Pence, posted, “The ballot corruption is happening in California right before our eyes.” Even Elon Musk joined the conversation on Monday, reposting content that questioned the integrity of the state’s elections and alleged that the recent votes for Raman were fraudulent.

While the president and other right-wing voices continue to allege wrongdoing, there is no credible evidence of voter fraud. According to The Guardian, the state’s process is intentionally designed to be accessible, secure, and verifiable. 

California mails ballots to every voter, and the verification of signatures and the opportunity for voters to fix errors take time. As noted by the California Voter Foundation, this system ensures that ballots with minor mistakes aren’t discarded, but it does mean that counting can take more than 22 days to complete.

Additionally, many Californians choose to mail in their ballots at the last minute, and per reports, the state accepts those postmarked by election day as long as they arrive within a week. This influx of late-arriving ballots is a primary reason why results shift in the days following an election. 

The Guardian stated that Democratic voters have increasingly favored mail-in options since 2020. So, it is common to see Democratic candidates surge in the results as these specific ballots are tallied. Paul Mitchell, a Democratic strategist, highlighted that Republicans reflect earlier in the count, but Democrats come out stronger as the vote count continues. 

Bill Essayli, a federal prosecutor for the Central District of California, announced on Friday that his office had “multiple election fraud investigations underway.” However, as The Guardian noted, he has also been forced to debunk false claims on X, such as a viral rumor that an election night update showed a candidate receiving zero votes. After reviewing official records, he confirmed the claim was false.

In a letter to election officials, Governor Gavin Newsom warned about the dangers of these delays, noting that they create space for misinformation. He wrote, “We must acknowledge that the longer the voting count takes, the more mis- and disinformation spreads. Time is of the essence in preventing election lies from taking hold.”

While the race for the governor’s seat and the Los Angeles mayor’s office continues to draw national attention, the reality remains that the counting process is functioning as intended. As the L.A. County Registrar of Voters continues to process ballots, the final official results are expected to be certified by July 2.