Exclusive | California voters reveal what's driving governor and LA mayor races 53%

By Helen Zhao0% Matt Elias0%

6/2/2026, 2:53:14 AM

BS Summary: This article contains 27 faulty reasoning types, including Confirmation Bias, Negativity Bias, and Status Quo Bias, with Anecdotal as the most egregious example at 41.1% saturation with 250 hits. Analysis detected 1,242 faulty-reasoning hits from 608 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 51.8% and a BS Rank of 53% (10,364 of 21,887 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 52.70% of the article peer group.

If the polls are right, Tuesday’s primaries for California governor and Los Angeles mayor are too close to call. 
In the governor’s race, Republican Steve Hilton is the leading contender, followed closely by Democrats Tom Steyer and Xavier Becerra. 
In the mayoral contest, it’s just as close between Mayor Bass and insurgent independent Spencer Pratt, with socialist City Councilwoman Nithya Raman apparently trailing. 
But that could all change. 
With that in mind, The California Post visited two polling places Monday in Beverly Hills to try make sense of it all. 
While a cross section of voters from neighborhoods across Los Angeles were split on who they would be voting for, they agreed on the issues driving their votes. 
As expected, one of the main issues for voters in Los Angeles were homelessness, crime and cost-of-living  but also the desire for change from the status quo. 
Take Nikki and Aiden, who were keen to talk but wary of giving their surnames. 
Both said they were voting for Pratt for mayor and Hilton for governor, citing their desire to change the way things were done in the city and state. 
‘’We want to make the city better; the homelessness crisis has been really bad and I feel like Spencer is the guy to do something about it,’’ Aiden said. 
Nikki agreed and said her family also supported Pratt. 
They also both voted for Hilton for governor, saying it was “time for a change.’’ 
‘’On housing and pricing and everything, these two candidates can bring that for us. 
I’m pretty hopeful,’’ Aiden said. 
Beverly Hills real-estate agent Kevin Danialifar, from Westwood, was also voting for the Pratt-Hilton combination, also saying it was time for a change. 
He was also critical of Bass over the homeless problem, which he sees as the biggest issue for Los Angeles. 
‘’Bass hasn’t done much. 
Nobody sees any changes,’’ he said. 
Registered Democrat, lawyer and makeup artist Chloe Majdipour couldn’t vote in the mayoral election because she is a Beverly Hills resident  but said that if she could, she’d be voting “for Spencer.’’ 
“I’ve lived in LA my entire life and it’s taken a turn for the worse,’’ she said. 
“He has common sense and wants to get the safety of our city back. 
“That’s really important to me.” 
Despite being a lifelong Democrat, she said she voted for Republican Hilton for governor. 
“I’ve just lost the plot a little bit on the Democratic side,” she said. 
“Since the last presidential election, I’ve been a little more conservative leaning. 
“I’m definitely leaning a little more conservative this time around.” 
Retired law firm administrator Carole, meanwhile, said she was voting for Becerra for governor. 
She called Becerra a “very decent human being without the drama.’’ 
“I like his experience,” she said. 
On the Los Angeles mayoral vote, Carole would be “sticking with Karen Bass’’ despite having “issues’’ with the way the 2025 fires were handled and the homeless situation. 
“I don’t think others are suitable,” she said. 
Antoinette and Mark Leos, retired educators, were split on their vote for governor. 
Antoinette said she voted for Becerra, again citing his experience and the fact he was a career politician. 
“He knows how to work the system,’’ she said. 
But her husband said he was going with billionaire Steyer because he “just loves his liberal, progressive policies.’’ 
Both said they voted for Raman for mayor. 
“I heard an interview with her on NPR. 
She came across very intelligent,” Mark said. 
“She really had her handle on the issues. 
I liked what she had to say.” 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 18.4%Helen Zhao: 6.9%California Post: 4.1%Confirmation Bias18.4%This article: 3.1%Helen Zhao: 1.6%California Post: 1.4%Anchoring Bias3.1%This article: 7.4%Helen Zhao: 2.2%California Post: 4.2%Availability Heuristic7.4%This article: 10.0%Helen Zhao: 3.4%California Post: 1.1%Representativeness Heuristic10.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.8%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.8%Helen Zhao: 0.8%California Post: 2.2%Overconfidence Bias0.8%This article: 5.9%Helen Zhao: 4.6%California Post: 10.3%Framing Effect5.9%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.9%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 11.7%Helen Zhao: 6.2%California Post: 0.6%Status Quo Bias11.7%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.2%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 7.9%Helen Zhao: 4.9%California Post: 2.5%Optimism Bias7.9%This article: 2.3%Helen Zhao: 1.9%California Post: 1.5%Pessimism Bias2.3%This article: 12.8%Helen Zhao: 6.1%California Post: 16.0%Negativity Bias12.8%This article: 5.8%Helen Zhao: 2.4%California Post: 2.4%Self-Serving Bias5.8%This article: 7.7%Helen Zhao: 2.8%California Post: 1.5%Fundamental Attribution Error7.7%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.2%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 5.1%Helen Zhao: 1.6%California Post: 1.6%In-Group Bias5.1%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 1.1%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 10.4%Helen Zhao: 5.6%California Post: 3.1%Halo Effect10.4%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.6%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 3.6%Helen Zhao: 2.1%California Post: 1.6%Recency Bias3.6%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.5%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.0%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.5%California Post: 2.6%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.5%Straw Man0.0%This article: 6.7%Helen Zhao: 2.0%California Post: 4.2%Appeal to Authority6.7%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.3%California Post: 1.5%False Dilemma0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.9%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.2%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 9.9%Helen Zhao: 8.1%California Post: 5.5%Hasty Generalization9.9%This article: 5.4%Helen Zhao: 1.4%California Post: 0.7%Red Herring5.4%This article: 2.5%Helen Zhao: 0.6%California Post: 1.4%Bandwagon2.5%This article: 5.9%Helen Zhao: 6.3%California Post: 8.9%Appeal to Emotion5.9%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.6%California Post: 1.1%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 2.7%Post Hoc (False Cause)0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.2%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 1.3%Helen Zhao: 0.3%California Post: 0.8%Burden of Proof1.3%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.2%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.2%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 41.1%Helen Zhao: 13.3%California Post: 3.6%Anecdotal41.1%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.0%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 1.3%Helen Zhao: 0.3%California Post: 2.0%Ambiguity (Equivocation)1.3%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.1%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 4.6%Helen Zhao: 1.2%California Post: 0.2%Special Pleading4.6%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 0.4%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 3.2%Unattributed Quote0.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 2.1%Quote-first Misdirection0.0%This article: 2.0%Helen Zhao: 2.6%California Post: 13.1%Biased Writer Voice2.0%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 0.0%California Post: 1.4%Indoctrination0.0%This article: 6.9%Helen Zhao: 1.7%California Post: 0.4%Politically Left Leaning Bias6.9%This article: 0.0%Helen Zhao: 2.0%California Post: 3.0%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 3.6%Helen Zhao: 0.9%California Post: 6.0%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…3.6%

608 words analyzed.

Speakers

5speakers42%attributed speech353writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 12 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 19 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 20 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 24 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 5 words • 0.0% coverageThe California Post • 22 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 28 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 28 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 15 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 28 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 29 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 15 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 5 words • 0.0% coverageKevin Danialifar • 23 words • 0.0% coverageKevin Danialifar • 20 words • 0.0% coverageKevin Danialifar • 4 words • 0.0% coverageKevin Danialifar • 6 words • 0.0% coverageChloe Majdipour • 33 words • 0.0% coverageChloe Majdipour • 17 words • 0.0% coverageChloe Majdipour • 14 words • 0.0% coverageChloe Majdipour • 5 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageChloe Majdipour • 14 words • 0.0% coverageChloe Majdipour • 12 words • 0.0% coverageChloe Majdipour • 10 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 11 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 6 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 28 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 8 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 13 words • 0.0% coverageAntoinette Leos • 18 words • 0.0% coverageAntoinette Leos • 9 words • 0.0% coverageMark Leos • 18 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 8 words • 0.0% coverageMark Leos • 8 words • 0.0% coverageMark Leos • 7 words • 0.0% coverageMark Leos • 8 words • 0.0% coverageMark Leos • 7 words • 0.0% coverage
Selected voice

Kevin Danialifar

100%flagged-word coverage
53 attributed words21% of attributed speech96% writer coverage
0%5.0%10.0%Politically Left Leaning B-6.8 ptsWriter: 6.8%Kevin Danialifar: 0.0%0.0%Biased Writer Voice-3.4 ptsWriter: 3.4%Kevin Danialifar: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.