WARNING SHOT: Outsiders Pratt, Hilton STUN in California elections

Thank you, guys.And here we go now.Los Angeles voters firing a political warning shot across the bow late last night.The Democratic incumbent, Karen Bass, heading to a runoff in the race for mayor.Spencer Pratt, the challenger, is right on her heels.So good morning, everybody.

Dana's got the day off today.I'm Bill Hemmer, live here in New York.And our friend Jackie has made her way on the train from Washington, D .C.It wasn't easy.

Here's a late train.I'm happy to be here with you guys.Thank you.I'm Jackie Heinrich.This is America's Newsroom.Bass is the first sitting mayor in decades to get less than 50 percent of the vote, forcing her into a runoff in November.

And it's not clear who she will face.But right now, Spencer Pratt sitting in second place ahead of progressive Nithya Raman.

So now Bass has faced a tough challenge amid her tumultuous tenure.Many voters angry over the rampant homelessness and in the drug -ridden streets.The city's also struggling to rebuild after the devastating Palisades fire that destroyed thousands of homes.And with the vote still being counted, all three candidates battling to the very end.And in the early morning hours, here is how two of them see it now.

I have devoted my entire life to serving the city that I love, where I was born, and I'm going to continue to do that all the way to victory in November.

She knows it's on.I hope she's ready, you know, because I literally could not be more excited.

No matter what happens in this election, I'll never stop fighting for it.Meanwhile, the race for California governor remains too close to call.Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Javier Becerra leading the pack.Matt Finn is live in L .A.with the latest.

Good morning, Matt.Good morning, Jackie.If Mayor Karen Bass got more than 50 percent of the vote last night, she would have been automatically reelected.This is over.But she did not.So now Bass and whomever officially comes in second place behind her are going to advance

the general election in November where they're going to battle this out all over again.Now the latest numbers from the AP this morning in the mayor's race, the AP estimates 63 % of the votes are in.Karen Bass claiming 34 % with 172 ,000 votes.The AP says she'll advance to the general election.Just behind her is Spencer Pratt with 30 % at 151 ,000 votes and in the distant third is progressive councilwoman Nithya Raman.Bass held a more traditional headquarters event last night at a hotel in Koreatown.

Pratt hosted a nonconventional private election night party at Don Antonio's Mexican restaurant, where Pratt addressed one of the most common criticisms against him not having the right experience.

I feel very confident that I'm going to continue to work hard, learn everything I need to learn, build my teams, show all the experience that I'm going to surround myself with because that's a concern people have.

We've been fighting because we're not going to let somebody turn back our clock.We are not going to do that.We are going to continue moving our city forward because this is the greatest city in the world.

And in the governor's race, the AP is reporting 58 % of the vote is in, and a Republican is in the lead in California.Former Fox News host and Trump -endorsed Steve Hilton has 1 .38 million votes.Just behind him is President Biden's former HHS Secretary Democrat Javier Becerra with 1 .26 million votes.

I'm very confident.I've always been confident, by the way, that once it's a straight choice in the general election between myself and another Democrat, that we will win, because the argument for change is irresistible.

While I take nothing for granted, there are lots of ballots left to be counted.It appears that we are on track to advance to November.

And in third place,in the governor's race is Democrat Tom Steyer.There are still tens of thousands of votes to be tallied.We will keep you updated here from California.Back to you guys in New York.

All right, Matt Finn, thanks so much.

So Jackie, over on the board, we'll show you where we stand right now.We'll begin now with the governor's race here in California as we look at real -time data as it stands right now.OK, too close to call.OK, in California, we know the top two candidates will advance.There were 60 candidates on the ballot.60.

I'm not making that up, all right?Steve Hilton, too soon to call.You got about 58 % of the estimated vote in right now.But a lot of mail ballots going to continue to come in for some time, and that's what slows down the counting.Hilton's got a slight edge here, about 2 .5 points over Becerra.And Tom Steyer, by the way, Tom Steyer spent more than $200 million.

Right now, he is in third place.But how does the state shake down here, all right?Hilton in red dominates inland, all right?Becerra and Green dominates the coastline and Steyer picks up a few counties down here around Santa Barbara.Let me pop out of California, one county down there on Santa Barbara.Let me top in here and show you what's happening in the mayor's race in Los Angeles, okay?

They're going to be counting for some time as well.Karen Bass will go to the runoff, we believe very comfortably based on the Associated Press reporting from the votes all overnight that she now currently leads in that mayor's race.So really the second place finisher will will advance, and that's either Pratt or that's Rahman.But Pratt right now is sitting in a very good and comfortable position.So how do they vote in Los Angeles?Massive, sprawling town.

Here are the neighborhoods.Pacific Palisades hit by the fires.Westwood, that's where UCLA is.Hollywood, and of course, downtown LA.To show you a bit of a comparison, we went back to the results in Los Angeles from four years ago.This is not the primary now.

This is the mayor's race and how it ended up.Karen Bass was the winner over Rick Caruso.Caruso was a Republican, then an Independent.He ran as a Democrat.But this is where Caruso did best.Pacific Palisades, okay, in the neighborhoods to the north.

Karen Bass did best in downtown L .A., Hollywood, and East L .A., and we'll see eventually once we get to November if indeed those voting patterns follow.As a setup, John Ashbrook, co -host of the Ruthless Podcast, is with me now.

John, good morning to you.Here's Pratt.He's been doing a lot of media, came to New York last week.Here's what he said late last night that L .A.

failed him as a citizen.As a citizen, I felt like my city failed myself, my neighbors, my family.And when I got on this mission now, I look around and the city's failing most of Los Angeles.So there's people that just want the potholes fixed.Mayor Bass has allowed the city to be covered in potholes.We don't have sidewalks.

We don't have lights.So on the basic level, there's people that care about that.Then there's the moms who want to be able to go to the parks and not see anybody shooting up fentanyl with their pants off.

OK. I mean, really, plain spoken guy.What he's talking about is demonstrated here, John.The homelessness on this chart, going back 10 years from 2015 at 25 ,000 to 2025 at more than 43 ,000.

Does he have a chance, John?Well, Bill, there are an awful lot of people who are sure hoping that he has a chance.I mean, you said it yourself.You broke down the numbers.There's still an awful lot of vote to count.But this guy has a campaign that has inspired people and people are excited because it's one of them.

Somebody sticking up against the government that has disappointed citizens for years.And it's an uphill battle.reason why it's an uphill battle.Republicans haven't won a mayor's race in that city for 25 years.And part of the reason is because Democrats have a machine that they built up over and over and over again.And Spencer Pratt is not just running for mayor, he's running against a machine that has kept people in that city down, and I sure hope he succeeds.

OK, we'll find out about that sometime in November, in the meantime of the governor's race.Steve Hilton worked here at Fox, worked for the UK government as well.He's in a battle.Here's what he said last night.

The majority of Californians want change.That's what this is about.Restoring that California dream.As I said earlier, a good job where you make enough to raise your family in a home of your own, in a safe neighborhood where your kids have the chance to go to a good school so they can have a better life.

23 million, looks to be much higher than it was four years ago.Can Hilton win and make a change in California?It's been some time, John.

Yeah, it sure has been some time.I mean, 15 years since you've had a Republican in that office.But I think he's right.I think people do want change in that state.And even if they aren't necessarily Republicans, if they're more independent minded, if they're maybe left of center voters, I think they do look at what's happening in the states and they're fed up.You know, one of the difficulties Republicans have statewide we talked about Los Angeles but one of the most things for any Republican has California is that people have already voted for years they voted with their feet they have left the state in the comments most likely to turn out and vote for change have already changed their location and gone to a different place so I'm sure rooting for

Steve.I think he's got a really good message here, and I think that he can come out on top if the people who want change turn out in droves.

All right.Plenty of time to analyze this, and we shall.Thank you, John, for coming on today.We'll talk very soon.Thanks.

All right, here we go.Results are pouring in overnight after primary elections in six separate states, including California.

Votes are still being counted in the Golden State's gubernatorial race and in the closely watched contest for the L .A.

mayor.Madeline Rivera joins us live.Give us a look on where things stand now.Hey, Maddie.

Hi, good morning.Incumbent LA Mayor Karen Bass is advancing to the November runoff after winning about 35 % of the vote.But it could take days, guys, before we learn whether she's facing Republican Spencer Pratt or progressive Nithya Raman.California relies so much on mail -in ballots, which slows down the vote counting process.But Pratt is optimistic he can't stay ahead of Raman to clinch the second spot in the runoff.

Over these last three and a half years, we have laid a foundation.And we're going to build on that foundation because we know what a city we have and what a city we can be.We're not going to let somebody turn back our clock.We are not going to do that.

This is the first time since 2005 an incumbent is going to a run out.This is not a candidate that I'm too concerned about.I was going to be happy if I wasn't moving forward because I would have known God didn't want me to be the mayor.But now I feel very confident that I'm going to continue to work hard.

Meantime, the California gubernatorial race remains too close to call.Democrats Javier Becerra and Tom Steyer and Republican Steve Hilton appear to be leading the pack.The top two vote getters will move on to the general election, regardless of their party.

There are powerful forces aligned to darken our light.The last thing these forces want is a working -class governor with a law degree and a union card ready to call them out.I am ready to lead the fight to uphold California's promise.

We have an option for change in California because everyone can see we're going in the wrong direction.We can offer Californians a new direction in November.56 % of Californians think the state's going in the wrong direction.And so now it looks as if we really can say, in the words that are behind me, change is coming to California.

In Iowa, Democrat Josh Turek and Republican Ashley Hinson will face each other in the race to replace retiring Senator Joni Ernst.Democrats are hoping to flip this seat.And in New Jersey's 12th congressional district, Adam Hamowy won the Democratic primary.He's a former Army medic and staunch critic of Israel.Hamowy has been scrutinized for his ties to a sheik who was convicted of terrorism and conspiracy charges, though Hamowy has since condemned the cleric's actions.Orange Ainsley and Brian.

Thank you so much.He just had so much so many big backers.He was backed by the squad He was backed by Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna Yeah, and I'm sure the blind shake would have backed him had he had he still be alive, correct?Yeah, who's trying to blow a surprising city and surprising that Karen Bass already has taken that She'll definitely move on to the November 3rd runoff whether or not it's Pratt or Rahman It looks like it's going to be Pratt just hasn't been called yet because he's ahead, you know by eight points, basically Yeah, I mean It's troubling because you want to root for Pratt, and you saw this online movement, and you even saw in the streets people saying that they want to change.

But it's just not reflective in the vote counting right now.Right now, it's looking like people are voting for the same old, same old.I mean, if you combine Bass, who is an incumbent,for mayor, and the councilwoman, Rahman, 22 percent, which are the progressives in this race, the people aren't voting for change.So you can burn down people's houses, have needles all over the street, an education system that is failing, and crime all over the place.And yet, they're worried about Pratt being a celebrity, and what they say is someone with no experience.

And what you're saying is, so you look at Bass, you see 34%.Now, that's still an unbelievably low for an incumbent.It's embarrassing.Correct.It's just totally ineffective.Pratt comes out of nowhere as a Republican, but really running as an independent, and seems to have locked up second place.

Rahman is an extreme lefty who wants to defund the police.No one's going to forget that.So let's say they too advance.The only reason I would give the mayor's shot for a Republican more than the governor's shot for a Republican, even though Steve Hilton deserves so much credit for coming in first, it seems, or within, he's up by about two points with 63%, is because you have four more months.And Karen Bassett's such an inept executive, and she is such a terrible campaigner, and he's just the opposite.And if he could make his, hey, I'm not a Republican, I'm an independent, it doesn't do any good to be tight with Trump in Los Angeles, then that's the way I would run.

And he's got, how many months would it be?Four months, six months, that's a long time.

It's not over, because there are a lot of people in that race.There were 14 different names in that race.So he could pick up the supporters that, because look, it's Karen Bass, what, 35?And then we have about 30, 40, 50.So it's about 84 % of those three candidates.What about the rest of that?

Where do they vote?Will they vote for Pratt?I mean, it's not over for him.He's neck and neck with Karen Bass, and she is the incumbent.She's the one that has the experience, but he's come out.It's very refreshing.

He doesn't lie.He tells it like it is.He knows the stats.He's very prepared.

You're right, Ainsley.It is an over.I think that that's a fair point to make.But when you look at ideology wise, Rahman is a progressive.Bass is a progressive.Yeah.

The voters just did.I mean, I could sugarcoat and say, OK, Pratt is going to be the guy.He's he's going to win.But looking at this right now, Doesn't look like he has a shot.So it upsets you because they haven't learned anything It upsets me because we we do all this coverage of talking with these people that have been Devastated and they're not getting to the polls right now And if when they do get to the polls, they're voting for the same old leadership, right?

So you use that's a question in the break.We just got the answer so Rick Caruso this established businessman multimillionaire self -made story and He ran against Karen Bass and he lost 45 to 36, right?So You would think, you would say, no, excuse me, 54 to 45.You would think, in retrospect, Rick Caruso saved his entire town, all the condos, he had his own fire department during the Pacific Palisades.The Pacific Palisades all burned to the ground.

And he was doing the interviews.He was out there talking to the residents.

And he was talking to everybody.So you would think Los Angeles had buyer's remorse.And they obviously don't to the degree.I'd say, well, now I have another shot at getting somebody that would come from the outside and just look to execute.But on the governor's race, let's take a look at that.Steve Hilton with 27 % to 25%.

Now think about this.Nobody knew Steve Hilton a year ago.Outside the Fox viewers, he does a fantastic job as a host and contributor.He's working with David Cameron as an advisor and political expert, and people know him, know how smart he was, his instincts, with a tech background.His wife's a tech executive, too.And he comes out of nowhere.

At the very least, he's got 27 % of the vote in a state that has 40 % to 40 % Republicans.So he's got, maybe they say, about a 15 % chance of winning in the general election.

right?Have you been back to California?I was talking to someone it's been years since I've been back to California going Thursday and okay And I want you to take some pictures or I want you to at least come back and report because I was talking to a friend She went with her husband that her husband loves, California I think she said he was from there and they went and she said have you been to LA lately?She said you will have A mansion, a $3 million, $6 million mansion with a homeless encampment right next to it.She said, I was appalled.She said, I told my husband, I don't ever want to go back.

And that's LA.It's the prettiest property.

And it's been like this for years now.I mean, we've done so many stories over the years.Now, it is fair to say Bianca did get 11 % of the vote.So he's the other Republican that's in the race.Right.I'm Hilton may have a shot just because this guy is hated so much.

Also, he's got a scandal brewing with his chief of staff.And the last thing I would say is just keep an eye on Iowa because people are concerned on the right that the president's losing the farmers.And it looks as though Turek is a formidable candidate.He won.He's the Paralympian, taking on Ashley Hinson.He's a Democrat.

And Ashley Hinson.And they're all trying to fill Senator Joni Ernst's seat.Now, there hasn't been a Republican Democrat sitting in that seat since 2008.

But they think that the president's got to get out in front of this and deal with his Deal with the farmers a positive way that's gonna hurt would hurt in the general the president did endorse Ashley Henson And she was the one who won the Republican nomination, so we'll see who wins in November She's a former news anchor the other senator in there is the belovedChuck Grassley.So they, Joni Ernst decided not to run again.So they have two Republican senators.So we'll see.

They're counting votes throughout the show.We'll keep you updated.