LOS ANGELES — A UC Berkeley-LA Times poll released on Thursday showed Spencer Pratt with 22% support among likely voters in the Los Angeles mayoral primary, placing him behind Karen Bass at 26% and Nithya Raman at 25%. The primary, scheduled for later this year, is non-partisan, and if no candidate receives at least 50% of the vote, the top two will advance to a November general election.
Pratt, a Republican political outsider and former star of MTV's reality show The Hills, announced his mayoral bid in January. His campaign has centered on the 2025 Los Angeles fires, which destroyed his home and were among the deadliest and most destructive in the area’s history. He has accused Mayor Karen Bass of failing to respond adequately to the crisis and has campaigned on promises to fix what he describes as a broken, unsafe, and unclean city, including through mandatory drug treatment programs to address homelessness.
From April 19 to May 16, Pratt raised $2.7 million for his campaign, far outpacing Bass, who raised approximately $270,000, and Raman, who raised about $385,000 during the same period. Pratt has used TikTok rants, AI-generated videos mocking opponents, and political advertisements to build visibility. In one campaign ad, Pratt said: "We are going to get the golden age of Los Angeles back." He also told a recent interviewer: "I may not have the experience, but I have the common sense to say this is not working."
Bass criticized Pratt at a campaign event on Monday, saying: "It's not just that he has no experience in city government. I don't know that he's ever held a job in his life other than to be a reality TV star. I think he doesn't know the issues. He's operating out of anger." Political psychologist Efrén Pérez of UCLA questioned Pratt’s representativeness, stating: "I'm not saying that there isn't any validity to being a spokesperson for - and potential improver of - the sort of tragedy that befell one very wealthy slice of LA. But that wealthy slice of LA is not representative of the entire city."
Pratt’s spokesperson denied rumors in a podcast interview that a reality show would be produced if he wins the mayoral election. Although Pratt is a Republican, Los Angeles has not elected a Republican mayor since 2001, and he has sought to distance himself from national partisan politics.