Spencer Pratt’s campaign for mayor of Los Angeles began as a celebrity long shot. Just days before Tuesday’s primary, the former MTV reality star is threatening to force incumbent Mayor Karen Bass into a runoff in November.
Pratt, “best known for”MountainVoting is taking place on 22% Among potential voters in a new UC Berkeley-Los Angeles Times votingJust behind Bass and the city council member at 26%. Nitya Raman At 25%. Pratt and Raman each gained eight percentage points since March, according to the survey.
Los Angeles mayoral elections are non-partisan. If no candidate wins more than 50% in Tuesday’s primary, the top two finishers advance to a November runoff. In a crowded field, this means Pratt does not need to win outright to advance in the race – he simply has to finish ahead of Raman.
Although the race is non-partisan, Pratt is a registered Republican and has attracted attention from conservative media and Trump-aligned people. He rejects the “MAGA Republican” label and framed his campaign as a referendum on the efficacy of City Hall, after a fire destroyed his home and his parents’ home in Pacific Palisades.
“I only got into the race because no one else was going to run,” Pratt said Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “I had to step up for my community and Los Angeles.”
Pratt has criticized the city’s challenges such as homelessness, drug addiction, crime, fire preparedness and the cost of doing business. He has accused Bass, a former Democratic US House member, of failing to keep residents safe and prepare Los Angeles for disasters.
“I don’t do national politics. I don’t do partisan politics,” Pratt said. “I run a non-partisan race.”
LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt hosts a campaign “block party” event on 10th Avenue on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA.
Robert Gauthier Los Angeles Times | getty images
Pratt also rejected Bass’s contention that homelessness has declined during his tenure, calling the city’s numbers “a complete fabrication.” Bass has pointed to a decline of 17.5% homeless.
Pratt said, “How do you clean this up? You enforce the law.” “The only laws enforced right now are probably parking tickets for people who are hard-working taxpayers who are just trying to get their matcha and they have to pass a naked drug addict.”
Pratt said he would use California’s SB 43 Legislation to transfer people with serious addiction or mental illness to mandatory treatment.
“This is not a homelessness problem, this is a drug addiction problem,” Pratt said.
The former reality star has also positioned himself as a pro-business candidate, saying he would cut red tape for builders and push for stronger film tax credits to bring production back to Hollywood.
“If you don’t feel safe on the streets, people don’t go to restaurants,” Pratt said. “Massachusetts’ tax credit is better than Hollywood’s,” he said.
Still, Pratt faces a difficult path in the heavily Democratic city where Bass remains in power with institutional support and Ramon is competing for anti-Bass voters.
Prediction markets Thursday had Pratt’s chances of winning in Kalaallis around 22%, reflecting growing interest in his candidacy but also uncertainty surrounding the race.
The Los Angeles mayoral primary is on Tuesday.
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