Spencer Pratt loses Los Angeles mayor runoff

Spencer Pratt, the celebrity challenger backed by President Donald Trump, failed to qualify for the November runoff to unseat embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The Associated Press determined Monday that Pratt did not make the cut, setting up a runoff be

LOS ANGELES — Spencer Pratt had promised this would be a fight, not a formality. After the June 2 primary, as officials spent days tallying votes, Pratt posted photos of himself outside city hall with a single word: “Patience.”

By Monday, the message ran into a hard wall. The Associated Press determined that the onetime reality TV personality did not qualify for the November runoff to unseat embattled incumbent Karen Bass.

Instead, Bass — a Democrat who faced new scrutiny as she dealt with the political fallout from last year’s Palisades Fire — will face progressive Nithya Raman, a city council member who had challenged Bass from the political left.

The runway to the runoff was always steep for Pratt, but the disappointment landed in a city where many residents said they’re tired of waiting.

Pratt’s pitch was fueled by celebrity and anger. He starred on “The Hills. ” released a rap song called “I’m a Celebrity. ” and wrote a memoir titled “The Guy You Loved to Hate.” He also started a company selling crystals that he said have healing properties. Still. his political arguments centered on chronic issues he relentlessly highlighted on the campaign trail: homelessness. crime and decay in a city known for its culinary scene. postcard scenery and a global entertainment industry.

“Enough is enough,” Pratt often said on the campaign trail.

Some Angelenos said that kind of outsider energy felt like the only thing left to try.

Dennis Kamrany, a lifelong Pacific Palisades resident who sells real estate and said he has been waiting for his home’s gas lines to be reconnected more than a year after they were damaged in the fire, said Pratt’s lack of political experience didn’t matter.

“I’d rather have someone that’s a fighter, that has energy, that’s young, that is talking about common sense policies,” Kamrany said.

“What the hell do we have to lose?” he added. “We’re already in the dumps. Give somebody else a shot.”

Steve Hilton, a conservative commentator who became the leading Republican candidate for governor, framed Pratt and his own bid as proof that California voters are ready for an escape from the state’s prevailing liberal governance.

“We’ve got a failed and broken system and you’ve got a couple of outsiders who’ve never run for office before,” Hilton said of himself and Pratt. “This is our moment.”

But the math in Los Angeles has long worked against Republican chances.

Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in California by a nearly 2-1 ratio. and Republicans account for under 15% of registered voters in Los Angeles. With that working against Pratt. there were simply not enough Los Angeles voters who said they believed he should oversee a $15 billion budget and 50. 000 municipal workers. including roughly 8. 600 police officers. in the nation’s second-largest city.

Pratt also faced an additional political hurdle: no Republican had won a mayor’s race in Los Angeles since 1997.

The city has seen Republican spending attempts before. In 2022, billionaire businessman Rick Caruso ran against Bass for mayor. The Republican-turned-Democrat spent over $100 million, most of it his own money, on a campaign focused on public safety, and lost by nearly 10 percentage points.

Deanna Crane, 33, said she wanted “anyone with a pulse other than Spencer Pratt” for mayor. Although she said she shared Pratt’s dissatisfaction with Bass’s handling of last year’s fires, she voted for Raman instead.

Pratt’s campaign leaned into a sense of grievance that began long before the first ballot was cast.

His political ambitions, the story goes, were forged by tragedy that added grit to his tabloid backstory. His house was one of thousands destroyed in last year’s Palisades Fire, the most destructive in the city’s history.

“This is where I live,” Pratt said in a campaign video while standing in front of a trailer parked on the ruins of his property. “They let my home burn down. I know what the consequences of failed leadership are.”

Pratt’s anger struck a nerve for some voters, even as details of his story became part of the controversy. The video included a trailer on the ruins of his property. but the campaign later drew correction: TMZ later reported he was living with his wife and two young boys in the luxurious Hotel Bel-Air.

His outrage mirrored broader dissatisfaction with Bass. Bass, a Democrat, was on a presidential delegation to Ghana when the blaze began and has faced criticism for the slow pace of rebuilding.

In a city that still feels the aftershocks, that timing mattered.

Alongside the fire response, Pratt’s celebrity track record shaped how supporters and critics saw his candidacy.

Pratt rose through the early aughts youth reality television boom in Los Angeles, building a presence for about two decades. His breakthrough came when he joined the second season of “The Hills” as Heidi Montag’s boyfriend. The couple — especially Pratt — leaned into their onscreen roles as fame-seeking villains. and they published a book. “How to Be Famous: Our Guide to Looking the Part. Playing the Press. and Becoming a Tabloid Fixture. ” in 2009. the year they married.

He pursued headlines as aggressively as campaigns. He claimed responsibility for spreading rumors about a sex tape featuring “The Hills” star Lauren Conrad but later denied it. A year and a half after marrying Montag. they filed for divorce; several months later. Pratt said it was faked to boost Montag’s fledgling music career. During their separation, he was arrested and jailed in Costa Rica for attempting to board a flight with a firearm.

In 2018. Pratt talked about how he blew through a $10 million net worth in pursuit of a lavish lifestyle. describing $4. 000 bottles of wine and $1 million worth of crystals. He started a company, Pratt Daddy, that sells crystals. The website explained that the crystals helped heal Montag’s post-surgery pain “that even morphine could not relieve.”.

After the family’s home was destroyed in the Palisades Fire, they faced backlash for accepting money from fans. Pratt insisted they were not rich even before losing everything. He turned to TikTok videos as a source of revenue. tried to get a reality show going about their rebuilding process. and encouraged fans to stream Montag’s music. including her 15-year-old album “Superficial.”.

“Superficial” hit No. 1 on iTunes, thanks to support from the likes of Paris Hilton, Alix Earle and Flavor Flav. Pratt celebrated with a video on Instagram.

“Who needs a house, who needs clothes, who needs anything but this level of clout, pop, superstardom?” Pratt said.

That mix of spectacle and grievance was part of why some voters gave him their attention — even if he ultimately didn’t get the finish line.

Susie Tho, 38, came to wait outside Pratt’s primary night party hoping to shake his hand. Tho said she is a Democrat but voted for Pratt. She was born and raised in Los Angeles and said she voted for a change after feeling like the city has “gone downhill.”

When Pratt first announced his candidacy, Tho said she was apprehensive. She said he won her over with his debate performance, which she called sharp and prepared.

“I just wanted a clean and safe street for my child to grow up in,” Tho said. “I miss the LA that I grew up in.”

The stakes are clear in what Los Angeles must still face.

The next mayor will likely become an international figure when Los Angeles hosts the Olympics in 2028.

But a falling population in the region points to frustration with taxes, traffic and the cost of everyday life. While statistics suggest the city has made headway on homelessness, makeshift encampments and rows of rusting RVs remain commonplace. Dirty, pocked streets and sidewalks are still visible.

Hollywood jobs have been decamping for years to more affordable filming locales. The restaurant industry has also been ailing.

Pratt’s campaign rose and fell on that tension — the promise that the city could be pressured into action, and the reality that his coalition and numbers weren’t enough to carry him into the November matchup.

Now the runoff turns to Bass versus Raman, with the public fury that propelled Pratt’s run still hanging over city hall — and over a city still waiting for the basics to catch up.

Spencer Pratt Karen Bass Nithya Raman Los Angeles mayor race June 2 primary November runoff Palisades Fire homelessness crime Los Angeles politics