Trump Deploys Ballot Observer to LA as Spencer Pratt and Former Fox News Host Steve Hilton Face Tense Election Moment in California

The Department of Justice has dispatched one of its lawyers to Los Angeles to oversee the ballot-counting proceedings, following President Donald Trump’s renewed allegations of electoral fraud as two significant races remain undecided.

The meticulous task of tallying California’s mail-in ballots has left the outcomes for Republicans Spencer Pratt and Steve Hilton uncertain.

On Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Renner was observed at LA County’s central processing center, as reported by Fox News, accompanied by a representative from the team of Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

In a post on X, Bonta stated, “My office is currently on-site, closely monitoring the situation, and is prepared to defend voters’ rights and ensure adherence to California’s election laws,” as he referenced the federal presence.

As of Tuesday’s election, approximately 64 percent of votes in the Los Angeles mayoral race have been counted, according to estimates from the Associated Press.

Pratt, a former reality TV star trying to unseat incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass after his $3 million home burned down last year in the Palisades fire, remains in second place. 

‘Patience,’ the former Hills star posted to X Friday afternoon, along with several photos of himself outside of LA City Hall. 

Bass will advance to a November runoff, but with so many ballots left outstanding, it remains unclear whether Pratt or progressive city council member Nithya Raman will be her opponent. 

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, a registered Republican, shared new pictures of himself Friday afternoon in front of LA City Hall while telling supporters ‘patience’ as California’s mail-in ballots continue to be counted 

Republican California gubernatorial candidate and former Fox News star Steve Hilton is also playing the waiting game as ballots are counted, with a slight edge over his opponents

Spencer’s wife, Heidi Montag, leaving his watch party at Don Antonio’s in Los Angeles on Tuesday after his successful night in the primary polls

Raman had a slight edge compared to Pratt in 60,000 ballots counted on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the New York Times. 

Mail-in voters generally trend more Democratic than Republican, which could further dent Pratt’s small 7-point lead. 

Pratt is a registered Republican, but none of the Los Angeles mayoral candidates are listed by political party due to California’s unique rules about jungle primaries. 

Meanwhile, in the governor’s race, Hilton remains in the top spot, with an estimated 60 percent of the vote counted.

The London-born former Fox News star has a slight edge over the leading Democrat, former health and human services secretary Xavier Becerra, who is about six points ahead of Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer. 

Despite this, because of California’s large Democratic population – and the fact that more left-leaning voters appeared to vote by mail and vote by mail later in the election process – the race is still expected to be a nail-biter for Hilton.

Mail-in ballots can be counted as long as they were dropped off by 8pm on Election Day. 

Additionally, California has a history of taking days to count all those ballots.  

Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, a registered Republican running for Los Angeles mayor, speaks to reporters outside his election night event. Days later, it remains unclear if he’ll make a runoff against incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass

Montag has not explicitly backed her husband’s campaign on social media

Trump, who lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden due to the widespread use of mail-in ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic, has long pushed for states to do away with that voting method. 

Since Election Day, he has claimed that the Democrats are cheating as the count has continued. 

‘Watch California, everybody!’ the President posted to Truth Social Thursday night. ‘Our Election process is as bad, or worse, than any Third World Country. The biggest difference is, they count their Votes much faster – They don’t wait seven days to tell you who won, rigging the Election during each and every one of them.’

‘Americans are ashamed of what is happening!’ Trump added. 

Trump brought up the long waits again during his Friday trip to Wisconsin, a speech predominantly billed as a message to the state’s farmers. 

‘Can you imagine, it’s four days, and they still aren’t even close to telling you who won. You know why? Because they’re rigging the election, that’s why,’ the President claimed. 

The President used California to push Republican lawmakers to pass the Save America Act, a voting bill that would restrict the use of mail-in ballots and expand voter ID. 

Despite Republicans having majorities in both houses, the Save America Act is stuck in the US Senate due to widespread Democratic opposition and several moderate GOP holdouts. 

The press office for California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited and thus cannot run for reelection, mused on X Thursday: ‘Why do Republicans hate that California counts every vote?’ 

Hilton has grumbled at the slow pace of the count, calling the process a ‘global laughing stock’ by pointing out that India can tally up 600 million ballots in one day. 

‘We’re as confident as ever that we will make the top two,’ he said in an X post Thursday night. 

Pratt has reacted to the wait by posting ‘God always wins’ Thursday afternoon.

His wife, reality TV star Heidi Montag, wrote, ‘Never give up, never surrender!’ Friday morning, though it was not entirely clear if she was referring to the LA mayoral election. 

Montag has not explicitly backed her husband’s campaign on social media, instead writing cryptic posts and advertising her new music. 

The day before, she had posted simply, ‘Croissants are magic.’