Trump Makes Unsubstantiated Claims Accusing Democrats Of ‘Stealing’ California Primaries

BySiladitya Ray,

Forbes Staff.

Topline

President Donald Trump, without any evidence, accused the Democrats of trying to “steal” California’s Gubernatorial and Los Angeles Mayoral open primaries, as counting of mail-in and drop-off ballots is still ongoing, with a Republican candidate remaining in contention to make the runoff in each of the races.

Key Facts

In a post on Truth Social, Trump attacked the Democrats and baselessly accused them of trying to “STEAL” the two races “AWAY FROM TWO GREAT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES.”

The president didn’t offer any evidence to back his assertions, as he used the ongoing count to attack “very late and massive numbers of” mail-in ballots, as he appeared to echo false claims he has previously made about the 2020 elections.

In a follow-up post, Trump again accused the Democrats—derisively calling them “Dumocrats”—of “BIG cheating” and claimed votes were “all tied up,” and results may not be in “for weeks.”

The President then said that the voting process is “under investigation” by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, although it's unclear if he ordered this probe.

Chief Critic

The official X account for California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Office shot back at Trump, tweeting: “Trump is lying about California again — time to take the phone away from grandpa and put him to sleep.”

What Is The State Of The Governor’s Race?

According to the Associated Press, 56% of the ballots in the Gubernatorial race have been counted so far, and the top two candidates will progress to the runoffs. GOP candidate Steve Hilton is in the lead with 27.6% of the votes, followed by Democrat Xavier Becerra at 25.6%. The only other candidate still in contention is Democrat Tom Steyer, who is in third place with 19.8% of the vote. Steyer will have to win the remaining vote drops by large margins to advance to the runoffs ahead of either Becerra or Hilton.

What Is The State Of The La Mayor Race?

The Associated Press partially called the Mayoral race early on Wednesday, noting that Democrat and incumbent Mayor Karen Bass has advanced to the runoff. With 62% of the ballots counted, Bass has secured 35% of the votes. Former reality TV star and Republican Spencer Pratt is in second place with 29.9% of the votes, while progressive Democratic challenger Nithya Raman is in third with 22.8%. The latest count released on Wednesday afternoon saw Raman cut into Pratt’s lead, and local election experts told the Los Angeles Times that she could not be counted out of the race yet.

What Do Betting Markets Say About The Primaries?

Following the recent tranche of results in the Los Angeles Mayor races, bookmakers on Kalshi believe Raman now has a better chance of advancing than Pratt. Bettors are predicting that there is a 60% chance of Raman joining Bass in the runoffs, compared to 39% who think it will be Pratt. On the crypto betting platform Polymarket, Raman’s odds of advancing have soared 20 points in the past day, with bettors now predicting she has a 67% chance, while Pratt’s odds have fallen to 32%. For the Governor’s race, Kalshi bettors believe Hilton has a 69% chance of making the runoffs, while Steyer’s odds are at 32%, with similar odds on Polymarket as well.