GOODER AND HARDER, LA: Decision Desk HQ Declares Nithya Raman Second in LA Mayor Race, Overtaking Spencer Pratt.

As Joel Pollak wrote yesterday, likely before Decision Desk declared Raman the winner of LA’s “jungle primary:” LA voting debacle reflects a democracy in crisis.

Half of America is watching LA count its votes with a sense of déjà vu: The spectacle of a candidate who is leading on election night, suddenly falling behind when mail-in ballots are counted, is what caused many to regard the 2020 election as fraudulent.

There was no proof of fraud then, just as there is no proof in LA; but the process does not inspire confidence. The fact that we are being told — by incumbents — that everything is OK only deepens the suspicion.

It was always possible — as I had said before Election Day — that socialist Nithya Raman would take second place, ahead of Pacific Palisades fire survivor Spencer Pratt.

I used an analogy from auto racing: Raman was “drafting” off Pratt, letting him do the tough work of attacking incumbent Karen Bass, and take all the attacks in return, then scooping up voters who decided they could not reelect Bass, but would not vote for a Trump-like Republican.

Yet, assuming that Raman does qualify for the general election ahead of Pratt, it would have been better to know that on election night — not several days after the fact.

If there were, in fact, fraud, this is exactly what it would look like. Again, there is no proof of fraud — but there is also no proof that there isn’t. And those who defend California’s system as necessary for fairness and accuracy cannot explain why other Democrat-run states manage to count their results relatively quickly.

And:

Around the nation, cities that are badly run by Democrats are choosing to move further left. Chicago voters ousted failing mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2023 — and elected Brandon Johnson, a favorite of the teachers’ unions. He is running the city into the ground, most recently watching the Chicago Bears look for a stadium in Indiana.

Earlier:

OLD AND BUSTED: Binders Full of Women.

The New Hotness?

NOVEMBER PREIVEW: ‘Maine’s Milei’ Looms Large in GOP Race for Governor.

Much like Argentina’s President Javier Milei, [Bobby] Charles spells out — in detail — precisely what he intends to do should he succeed termed-out Democrat Gov. Janet Mills this fall.

Charles, in fact, did almost that in a telephone interview with Newsmax Friday night on his way to a campaign event.

“Taxes are too high, senior citizens can’t afford the 36 percent increase in the cost of energy, and we’re losing young Mainers who move away for a better opportunity,” he told us.

“That’s because we’ve been a one-party state for the last six years, so we’ve got to undo what has happened during that time.” he said.

Specifically, Charles wants to make Maine the 12th state to abolish its income tax, oversee major property tax cuts, and roll back unfunded mandates on towns and municipalities.

Many more like him, please.

DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES:

THIS IS WHAT THEY MEAN BY “OUR DEMOCRACY:”

KEVIN DOWNEY JR: Filthy Pinko of the Week: Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy! “Murphy appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher and went full bosh goblin as he vomitously disembogued his Pravda-esque presstitution about what a censoring tyrant President Donald Trump is regarding the recent head-lopping of propagandist Scott Pelley. Maher, who appears to be politically waking up, albeit with the speed of a tectonic plate shift, wasn’t having it.”

REMINDER:

WHAT ARE THE FACTORS INSIDE IRAN THAT VICTORY REQUIRES?  The resumption of the war with Iran, Part 3.

THEY’VE BEEN SACRIFICING OUR GIRLS ONE ALTAR OR ANOTHER FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER: They don’t like girls — or humans — much anyway.  The Left Sacrifices Our Girls on the Altar of Trump Derangement Syndrome.

TRUMP STORMS OUT OF MEET THE PRESS INTERVIEW:

The exchange started to unravel when the topic of election integrity came up. Trump made clear that he views the media’s handling of these stories as part of a larger systemic problem, one that the press has deliberately chosen to ignore. He told Welker that her network actively works against him and that he had the receipts to back it up.

“You play right into their hands with this stuff,” Trump said. “You know that these elections are rigged. Your network knows that they’re rigged. Do you know that I won an election in a landslide and I got 94% bad press.”

Welker tried to redirect the conversation toward acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, but Trump wasn’t having it. Every time she jumped in, he pushed through it. He insisted the evidence of problems with election integrity runs deep: “You have more evidence, there’s more evidence than ever presented.”

“Your elections in this country — we’re like a third world country,” he said. “Your elections are crooked and you’re crooked, and Meet the Press is crooked.”

He didn’t stop there. “And so is ABC and CBS and CNN,” Trump continued. “You’re a one-sided crooked network.”

Related:

Meanwhile America’s Newspaper of Record might to revise and extend its remarks:

UPDATE: