Republican candidate for governor Steve Hilton, who is on track to advance from the primary to face off against Democrat Xavier Becerra in November, was angry Tuesday over the loss of Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt.
Part of his fury was directed at California’s top-two primary system, where the top two vote-getters regardless of political party advance to the general election. In the mayoral race, that means far-left councilwoman Nithya Raman will face incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass.
“Spencer Pratt put forward an unbelievably compelling case for change in Los Angeles,” Hilton said at a press conference. “I think that what’s happened with Spencer Pratt is a travesty.”
Hilton added that he wants to end the “ridiculous” top-two system that now leaves Los Angeles voters with no room for change. It’s an idea that some Democrats have even supported, including California Democratic Party chair Rusty Hicks. A ballot proposal was filed to offer that change.
“It is a travesty that Los Angeles, now with all the problems that we can all see in this election, is going to have a choice between the obviously incompetent incumbent and an ideological extremist,” Hilton added.
“They are now not going to have the choice for change in November,” he went on. “It is an outrage and a travesty that Spencer won’t be on there.”
Pratt, a registered Republican, has gone viral for his relentless and compelling campaigning style, which featured shared AI-generated ads and a knack for generating publicity. Conservative figures nationwide have heaped praise on his run, which also attracted independents.
Hilton said Tuesday he would be open to Pratt potentially working in his administration should Hilton be elected.
“I’ll be honored and proud to have him work with me as the next governor in any capacity,” Hilton said.
The gubernatorial candidate on Tuesday also offered a longer-term solution to California’s notoriously sluggish vote-counting: Voter ID.
Full election results from last Tuesday’s primary for governor are still not out as of this Tuesday morning. A big reason for the slow results is that the state accepts mail ballots that arrive after Election Day as long as they were postmarked on time. Voters have up to 14 days to cure certain signature or identification problems.
Hilton said a state voter ID requirement would be an essential fix. An initiative that would beef up ID and proof of citizenship requirements for California voters is on track for the November ballot.
“If we had voter ID, we would need all this endless checking of signatures and verification, all the things that they say take all this time,” Hilton said.
He offered Becerra, who has advanced to the runoff, to campaign with him to promote voter ID. A spokesperson for Becerra did not immediately return a request for comment.
