Topline
Republican Spencer Pratt, a former reality star, ended up finishing third—and missing out on the runoff—in the primary for Los Angeles mayor, after a campaign that drew significant interest as he mirrored President Donald Trump’s playbook and drew on anger toward the city’s handling of last year’s devastating wildfires.
Los Angeles Mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt is seen speaking with the media outside Don Antonio’s restaurant in Los Angeles, California.
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Key Facts
The Associated Press called the race at 7:55 p.m. EDT on Monday evening with 92% votes counted.
Pratt managed to secure 25.8% of the votes counted, putting him behind both incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, who got 34.3% of the vote and progressive Democratic challenger Nithya Raman who received 28.6%.
AP had called Bass advancing last week, while Pratt was in second place at the time followed by Raman
Raman, however, kept gaining on the former reality TV star as drops of mail-in an late ballots were counted, and she eventually overtook him on Sunday.
Pratt has not yet commented on the result, earlier on Monday when gap between him and Raman was narrower, he tweeted: “we’re dealing with a fraction of a percentage point difference, there’s still hundreds of thousands of votes outstanding.”
Key Background
Pratt centered his campaign around his anger toward Bass after losing his home in last year’s Palisades Fire, and it was bolstered by viral AI campaign videos and the support of many in Trump’s MAGA base. In one popular real ad, Pratt is pictured visiting the neighborhoods where Raman and Bass live, unaffected by the wildfires, then standing in front of a trailer on the burned out lot of his former home. He’s also campaigned on curbing the city’s homelessness problem, which exploded in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pratt, former villain on MTV’s “The Hills” who is married to his costar Heidi Montag, with whom he shares two children, was initially seen as an unserious political candidate. But his viral ads and what was widely viewed as a breakout performance in the mayoral debate last month helped cement his position as a real contender in the race. His rise has been compared to Trump’s, a reality star who captured populists at a time when the country was disaffected by career politicians. Trump stopped short of endorsing Pratt, telling reporters last week, “I’d like to see him do well,” while calling him a “character” and a “big MAGA person.”
What Did Raman Say After Making The Runoffs?
In a statement is issued on X after the latest vote count update on Monday night, Raman said: “I’m incredibly honored that voters have given us the opportunity to advance to the general election for Mayor of Los Angeles…Now our fight for a healthier, safer, more affordable, and more joyful Los Angeles continues.”
Tangent
The long vote count process and Raman’s strong performance among mail-in voters—which leaned heavily Democratic—have triggered conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. Last week, President Donald Trump claimed without evidence that Democrats were trying to “steal” the California primaries from two GOP candidates, Pratt and the GOP Gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton. Trump allegations were echoed by billionaire Elon Musk over the weekend who boosted several posts on X from people questioning the vote count in the Mayoral race. Some of the post pushed by Musk suggested that Raman’s strong performance was a “statistical impossibility,” despite Los Angeles being a deep blue city.
Further Reading
Musk Joins Trump In Boosting Unsubstantiated Claims About LA Mayor Election As Pratt Drops To Third (Forbes)
