Is City Councilwoman and L.A. Mayoral Candidate Nithya Raman the only person who doesn’t realize how dubious her path to the second runoff spot appears to the average American? Or is she just pretending because what else can she really do?
Either way, after the Decision Desk projected on Monday that Raman would advance to the general election, she took to X to thank her supporters “who knocked [on] doors, made calls, sent texts, donated, and opened their homes for events across the city” for giving her the opportunity to continue her campaign. She was just so “incredibly honored.”
She invited Angelenos to join her in the “fight for a healthier, safer, more affordable, and more joyful Los Angeles.”
Those of us who have followed the race closely have watched with mounting frustration as Spencer Pratt’s initial 8.1-point lead over Raman slowly eroded until it became a 2.8-point deficit.
To say the least, Raman’s post did not receive a warm welcome. As negative replies flooded the thread and easily outnumbered likes, Raman found herself staring at an old-fashioned ratio.
One X user posted a chart of the cumulative vote totals over the first four days of counting. The most dramatic — and, I would argue improbable, if not impossible — shift in Raman’s fortunes came between June 3, the morning after the primary, and June 4-5. While incumbent Mayor Karen Bass’s vote total rose from 185,000 to 215,868, or 16.7% over that interval, and Pratt’s from 130,000 to 174,260, or 34%, Raman’s total surged from 71,000 to 153,588, a whopping 116% increase!
The caption on the post read: “No Nithya, cheating the vote is not how you win an HONEST election. You didn’t even win your own council district (CD4). You can never tell me otherwise.”
https://x.com/corbinwilliams/status/2064162280640745816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
A second person wrote, “Deep down Nithya, you know you don’t actually have any legitimate support of the voters. Your own district didn’t even give you the votes to advance.” To which a user replied, “Democrats don’t have a ‘deep down.'”
https://x.com/VotePratt/status/2064166802863661295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Another astutely noted:
https://x.com/realLizUSA/status/2064222957585551854?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Journalist Daniel Greenfield wrote:
https://x.com/Sultanknish/status/2064362603824951675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Here are several more responses:
https://x.com/JoeBauers14/status/2064610545903526092?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://x.com/BillboardChris/status/2064198386773885225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The scathing responses kept on coming. If Raman bothered to read them, she would quickly discover how many people view her so-called victory.
Angelenos watched Pratt build a commanding lead on election night, only to see that advantage steadily evaporate as ballot counting dragged on for days. Raman may choose to celebrate her “advancement to the general election,” but the replies to her post reveal a deeper problem: a significant number of voters will always view her as an illegitimate candidate. One thing is for sure: Raman’s victory lap landed very differently than she likely anticipated.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on LinkedIn.
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