Trump alleges cheating in California governor and LA mayor races

U.S. President Donald Trump has targeted California's primary elections, unleashing a wave of allegations on Truth Social that Democrats are actively attempting to "steal" high-profile races from Republican candidates.

Following Super Tuesday primary contests spanning six states, Trump focused his attention on the slow ballot-counting process in the Golden State, taking particular aim at the competitive races for California governor and mayor of Los Angeles. "The Dumocrats are at it again!" Trump posted, pointing to the standard arrival of late-counted mail-in ballots as evidence of potential interference. In a subsequent post, the President claimed that "BIG cheating" was taking place and alleged that the vote-counting delays were under active investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

The political firestorm comes as initial tallies reveal highly fragmented, neck-and-neck races. In the sprawling race to succeed term-limited Governor Gavin Newsom, Trump-backed Republican Steve Hilton holds a narrow lead with 27.6% of the vote, closely trailed by Democrat Xavier Becerra at 25.6%.

Meanwhile, the battle for Los Angeles City Hall has delivered a major political surprise. While incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass has secured her spot in the November general election with 35% of the vote, her upcoming runoff opponent remains unconfirmed. Running a close second is former reality TV personality turned political outsider Spencer Pratt, a registered Republican who has channeled voter fury over crime and homelessness to capture 30.4% of the vote. Pratt leads progressive Democratic Councilwoman Nithya Raman by just a few percentage points as election officials continue to chip away at the remaining uncounted ballots.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada