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Live primary election results tonight: Los Angeles City Council races
More about these races
What’s at stake
L.A. voters in 2026 will choose who will be their chief steward of city services for the next four years in each of eight odd-numbered council districts. They'll also will determine the ideological makeup and effectiveness of the 15-member City Council.
Challenges include federal immigration enforcement, homelessness, the city’s readiness for the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Summer Olympics and continuing city budget shortfalls.
What it takes to win
Candidates who win more than 50% of the vote in the primary will be sworn into office in December. If no candidate wins more than 50%, a runoff between the top two vote-getters will be held Nov. 3.
District 1
Incumbent Eunisses Hernandez — the self-described “tip of the progressive spear” on the council — is facing off against four challengers.
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This district has long been a welcoming destination for generations of immigrants. Citywide housing costs have attracted first-time homebuyers to this district and pushed apartment rents here higher, causing concern about displacement of longtime residents. Parts of the district remain among the nation’s most densely populated neighborhoods.
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District 3
A new powerbroker is coming to town: The council seat opens up this year as incumbent Bob Blumenfield nears the end of his final term.
This district is located in the southwestern corner of the San Fernando Valley, and all three candidates vow to help the area get a bigger slice of city services.
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District 5
Incumbent Katy Yaroslavsky is facing off against two challenges who both vow to change zoning laws to pave the way for more housing.
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The district makes up much of L.A.’s Westside. And under a plan approved by Metro earlier this year, the district will be linked with the San Fernando Valley by a heavy rail line running through a tunnel under Bel Air and through the Sepulveda Pass.
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District 7
Incumbent Monica Rodriguez is essentially assured another term representing City Council District 7 in the San Fernando Valley: She is running unopposed.
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District 9
This race will also welcome a new powerbroker to the table, along with a sign of the city’s demographic shifts: L.A.’s District 9 won’t have a Black council member for the first time in 60 years.
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Six candidates — none of them Black and all of them Latino (more than half are themselves immigrants to the U.S.) — are vying to fill the seat that three-term incumbent Curren Price is slated to leave in December.
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District 11
The deadly 2025 Palisades Fire and its destruction of homes, schools and businesses in Pacific Palisades has become a defining fact of life in the district, along with tensions in Westchester over expansion of Los Angeles International Airport, and in Venice and elsewhere over homeless encampments and the need for more housing.
With only two candidates named on the ballot — incumbent Traci Park is being challenged by Faizah Malik, a civil rights attorney — this contest is likely to be decided in the primary.
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District 13
Incumbent Hugo Soto-Martinez is being challenged by three political newcomers — including his upstairs neighbor.
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The district includes much of Hollywood and some of the most diverse neighborhoods in L.A., including Koreatown, Thai Town, Historic Filipinotown and Little Armenia.
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District 15
Incumbent Tim McOsker is running for a second term to represent the area where he grew up — he’s a lifelong San Pedro resident.
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About the vote count
For LAist's charts showing vote counts, we get numbers directly from the L.A. County and Orange County registrars of voters for local races. Totals are updated on our site as soon as possible after the registrars provide new tallies. For statewide races, counts come from the California Secretary of State's Office.
Keep in mind that, in tight races particularly, the winner may not be determined for days or weeks after election day. That's because early voting and mail-in ballots have fundamentally reshaped how votes are counted and when election results are known. In L.A. County, for example, updates on the counting are expected to continue through June 26. After the polls close on election night, expect updates every 15 minutes or so through the early morning hours Wednesday. After that, expect updated counts around 5 p.m. on the following days: June 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 18, 24 and 26. Final results must be certified by July 10.
Our priority during the vote count will be sharing outcomes and election calls only when they have been thoroughly checked and vetted by journalists. To that end, we will report when candidates concede and otherwise rely on NPR and the Associated Press for race calls (before official results). We will not report the calls or projections of other news outlets. You can find more about NPR's and the AP's process for counting votes and calling races here, here and here.
Tracking your ballot
You can track the status of your ballot through California's BallotTrax website.
If your mail-in ballot has any problems (like a missing or mismatched signature), your county registrar must contact you to give you a chance to fix it.
Official results
The California Secretary of State's Office is required to certify the final vote tallies by July 10, marking the official end of the 2026 primary election.
LAist's Voter Game Plan will be back in the fall to help you prepare for the Nov. 3 general election.
Ask us a question
What questions do you have about this election?
You ask, and we'll answer: Whether it's about who's funding the campaigns or how to track your ballot, we're here to help you understand the 2026 election