Trump Calls Los Angeles Mayoral Vote 'Rigged' as Familiar Election-Fraud Narrative Returns
President Donald Trump is questioning the legitimacy of the Los Angeles mayoral primary after Republican candidate Spencer Pratt slipped from second place to third as additional ballots were counted.
The shift occurred as Los Angeles election officials processed mail ballots and other outstanding votes, allowing City Councilmember Nithya Raman to overtake Pratt for a runoff spot against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. Election officials and voting experts say the movement reflects California’s normal counting procedures rather than documented fraud.
Trump nevertheless described the contest as a “rigged” election and suggested wrongdoing without presenting evidence. Similar claims have been echoed by several MAGA-aligned commentators and social-media personalities following Pratt’s decline in the vote count.
The episode fits a pattern that stretches back nearly a decade.
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In 2016, Trump alleged fraud after losing the Iowa Republican caucus and later claimed millions of illegal votes were cast in the presidential election despite winning the Electoral College. He established a voter-fraud commission that was eventually dissolved without producing evidence of widespread fraud.
After losing the 2020 presidential election, Trump and his allies pursued lawsuits and challenges alleging widespread voter fraud. Courts repeatedly rejected many of those claims, and election-related litigation failed to overturn the outcome.
Election experts interviewed in recent coverage warn that Trump’s California comments revive many of the same themes used after previous elections. They argue that delayed counts and late ballot shifts are often misunderstood by voters but remain common in states with extensive mail voting.
With congressional control potentially at stake in the 2026 midterms, observers are closely watching whether election-fraud allegations become a recurring campaign message in competitive races nationwide.
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