Last night conservatives went to bed confident that two conservative outsider candidates, Steve Hilton for Governor and Spencer Pratt for Mayor of Los Angeles had made it through California’s “jungle primary” and would be on the ballot.
This morning we awoke to the reality that the “final count” which somehow always goes against conservatives and Republicans, would not be known for days.
Los Angeles’ Far Left Mayor Karen Bass received the most votes and is advancing to a runoff election after failing to capture the 51% of the vote needed to win outright in a bid for reelection.
Outsider Spencer Pratt is second in early returns of the vote, while foreign-born Communist Nithya Raman is further back.
FOX News reported Republican candidate for governor in California Steve Hilton appeared to finish on top in the state's open primary, telling Fox News Digital that his campaign has been about giving voters "an option for change" in the deep-blue state.
"Honest, simple truths," Hilton said when Fox News Digital spoke to him Tuesday evening, with around 51% of the votes counted and Hilton in front of the crowded field. "All the simple things. That's what it's all been about. Traveling the state, working incredibly hard, meeting people, and learning what needs to change and offering a simple, positive, practical plan. That's all it is."
Hilton called the results Tuesday night "encouraging" and added that, with his success on primary night Tuesday, it cements that change coming to California "is now a real possibility."
However, in California, as the New York Times observed, Election Day often stretches into Election Week or even Election Month because of the time it takes to count the state’s high volume of mail ballots. That process, combined with the fact that many Democrats waited until the last minute to return their ballots this year, could lead to a long wait for a call for many races in the state’s nonpartisan primaries.
Typically, more than 80 percent of ballots in California are cast by mail. Ballots that had been returned well ahead of Election Day were processed as they were received, and counties posted those votes shortly after polls closed on Tuesday night. But ballots received close to or on Election Day — as well as those postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days — can take up to 30 days to be counted.
Those later ballots, referred to as the “late mail” vote, often determine the outcome of races. And this year’s primaries are further complicated by a marked climb in the share of ballots returned by registered Democrats in the lead-up to Election Day.
Four weeks ago, about 40 percent of the ballots cast by mail came from registered Democrats. In the week leading up to Election Day, the Democratic share of returned ballots was over 50 percent, meaning that the mail ballots counted in the days and weeks after Election Day could be significantly more Democratic than those reported so far, reported the New York Times.
Hard figures on the number of ballots that remain to be counted won’t be available until later in the week, but in past California elections as much as 50 percent of the vote has remained to be counted after Election Day.
In the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral primary, Karen Bass had received about 37 percent of the reported vote by the end of election night, compared with the more conservative Rick Caruso’s 42 percent. By the time all the ballots had been counted, Ms. Bass had risen into first place with 43 percent of the vote, and Mr. Caruso had fallen to 36 percent, noted the reporters at the NYT.
Bass went on to win the General Election.
California is one of eight states that allow all elections to be conducted by mail, with varying grace periods for ballots that are postmarked by Election Day. Those grace periods are under scrutiny as the U.S. Supreme Court is currently weighing a case that, if decided correctly, would require ballots to arrive by Election Day.
When officials can’t even tell how many valid ballots are outstanding, California’s “Election Month” system is an invitation to corruption and election fraud. We urge Hilton and Pratt to lawyer-up and prepare to defend their Election Day wins from Election Month tampering.
George Rasley is editor of Richard Viguerie's ConservativeHQ.com. A veteran of over 300 political campaigns, he served as a staff member or advance representative for some of America’s most recognized conservative political figures, including Ronald Reagan, Sarah Palin and Jack Kemp. A member of American MENSA, he served on the House and Senate staff and on the staff of Vice President Dan Quayle. Rasley is a graduate of Hanover College and studied international affairs at Oxford University's Worcester College.
This morning we awoke to the reality that the “final count” which somehow always goes against conservatives and Republicans, would not be known for days.
Los Angeles’ Far Left Mayor Karen Bass received the most votes and is advancing to a runoff election after failing to capture the 51% of the vote needed to win outright in a bid for reelection.
Outsider Spencer Pratt is second in early returns of the vote, while foreign-born Communist Nithya Raman is further back.
FOX News reported Republican candidate for governor in California Steve Hilton appeared to finish on top in the state's open primary, telling Fox News Digital that his campaign has been about giving voters "an option for change" in the deep-blue state.
"Honest, simple truths," Hilton said when Fox News Digital spoke to him Tuesday evening, with around 51% of the votes counted and Hilton in front of the crowded field. "All the simple things. That's what it's all been about. Traveling the state, working incredibly hard, meeting people, and learning what needs to change and offering a simple, positive, practical plan. That's all it is."
Hilton called the results Tuesday night "encouraging" and added that, with his success on primary night Tuesday, it cements that change coming to California "is now a real possibility."
However, in California, as the New York Times observed, Election Day often stretches into Election Week or even Election Month because of the time it takes to count the state’s high volume of mail ballots. That process, combined with the fact that many Democrats waited until the last minute to return their ballots this year, could lead to a long wait for a call for many races in the state’s nonpartisan primaries.
Typically, more than 80 percent of ballots in California are cast by mail. Ballots that had been returned well ahead of Election Day were processed as they were received, and counties posted those votes shortly after polls closed on Tuesday night. But ballots received close to or on Election Day — as well as those postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days — can take up to 30 days to be counted.
Those later ballots, referred to as the “late mail” vote, often determine the outcome of races. And this year’s primaries are further complicated by a marked climb in the share of ballots returned by registered Democrats in the lead-up to Election Day.
Four weeks ago, about 40 percent of the ballots cast by mail came from registered Democrats. In the week leading up to Election Day, the Democratic share of returned ballots was over 50 percent, meaning that the mail ballots counted in the days and weeks after Election Day could be significantly more Democratic than those reported so far, reported the New York Times.
Hard figures on the number of ballots that remain to be counted won’t be available until later in the week, but in past California elections as much as 50 percent of the vote has remained to be counted after Election Day.
In the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral primary, Karen Bass had received about 37 percent of the reported vote by the end of election night, compared with the more conservative Rick Caruso’s 42 percent. By the time all the ballots had been counted, Ms. Bass had risen into first place with 43 percent of the vote, and Mr. Caruso had fallen to 36 percent, noted the reporters at the NYT.
Bass went on to win the General Election.
California is one of eight states that allow all elections to be conducted by mail, with varying grace periods for ballots that are postmarked by Election Day. Those grace periods are under scrutiny as the U.S. Supreme Court is currently weighing a case that, if decided correctly, would require ballots to arrive by Election Day.
When officials can’t even tell how many valid ballots are outstanding, California’s “Election Month” system is an invitation to corruption and election fraud. We urge Hilton and Pratt to lawyer-up and prepare to defend their Election Day wins from Election Month tampering.
George Rasley is editor of Richard Viguerie's ConservativeHQ.com. A veteran of over 300 political campaigns, he served as a staff member or advance representative for some of America’s most recognized conservative political figures, including Ronald Reagan, Sarah Palin and Jack Kemp. A member of American MENSA, he served on the House and Senate staff and on the staff of Vice President Dan Quayle. Rasley is a graduate of Hanover College and studied international affairs at Oxford University's Worcester College.
