A surprising mayoral contest is unfolding in Los Angeles, where reality television personality Spencer Pratt is mounting an insurgent campaign against incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass. The race sees all three candidates, including progressive city council member Nithya Raman, clustered tightly.
Pratt, addressing applauding supporters at a recent block party, declared, “We can’t give up on LA. We’ve got to fight.” His challenge comes as Mayor Bass navigates a shaky first term in the heavily Democratic city of Los Angeles.
While she points to a decrease in homelessness, visible encampments and rows of rusting RVs remain common. Bass also continues to contend with the fallout from the 2025 Palisades Fire, the most destructive in the city’s history, which ignited while she was abroad.
Pratt, who lost his home in the blaze, has made the fire and the city’s recovery a cornerstone of his platform.
The sentiment of disillusionment was echoed by Vivian Escalante, a historian from the heavily Hispanic Boyle Heights neighborhood. Attending Pratt’s event with a campaign cap, she lamented that the quality of life has been declining for years, citing “dirtier streets, more homeless encampments and a lack of pride.”
Escalante asserted, “It’s gotten completely worse,” adding that the Democratic Party has “completely abandoned us.”
Although officially nonpartisan, the race features two Democrats in Bass and Raman, the latter having made a late decision to challenge her former ally.
Pratt, known for his role on “The Hills” alongside his wife Heidi Montag, is a registered Republican.
He has received a nod of approval, though not a formal endorsement, from President Donald Trump, yet he insists his concerns are strictly local and seeks to distance himself from national politics.
A recent poll co-sponsored by the University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Governmental Studies and The Los Angeles Times underscored the race’s competitiveness.
The survey of 1,351 likely voters, conducted between May 19 and May 24, found Bass, Raman, and Pratt tightly clustered, with no candidate holding a statistically significant edge.
The city itself stands at a difficult juncture. Hollywood jobs have been relocating for years to more affordable filming locations, while a downtown renaissance has been stifled by prolonged pandemic closures, leaving many office buildings struggling to find tenants.
Furthermore, Los Angeles has long grappled with providing fundamental services, from paving buckled streets and repairing sidewalks to ensuring streetlights remain operational.
