Trump claims Democrats 'stealing' California governor, LA mayor races

US President Donald Trump on Thursday accused the Democratic Party of attempting to "steal" primary elections for California governor and Los Angeles mayor, claiming that delays in vote counting and mail-in ballot processing indicated widespread electoral fraud in the western US state. The Republican president wrote on Truth Social that Democrats were attempting to rig the contests through late-arriving mail-in ballots, stating: "Here we go with the very late and massive numbers of MAIL IN BALLOTS." He added that there was "BIG cheating" in the state and questioned why vote counting faced such significant delays.

Federal investigation into tabulation delays

Trump claimed the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles has opened an investigation into the tabulation delays, posting that votes were "all tied up" and final results might not be available for weeks. "There's BIG cheating by the Dumocrats in California," he stated in a separate message on his social media platform, using a derogatory nickname for the party while providing no evidence to support his allegations of systemic fraud. His remarks followed primary elections held Tuesday in six US states ahead of November's midterm elections.

Race standings remain unsettled

In the California gubernatorial contest, Republican Steve Hilton held 27.6 percent while Democrat Xavier Becerra trailed with 25.6 percent as of Thursday morning with 56 percent of ballots tallied. In Los Angeles, incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass leads with 35 percent and has secured a general election spot, though her runoff opponent remains undetermined. Republican Spencer Pratt — who holds 30.4 percent and Trump's endorsement — remains locked in a tight contest with Democrat Nithya Raman at 29.9 percent with 62 percent of votes counted.