It's a fight to the finish in L.A.'s wild mayoral primary

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An embattled mayor.A brainy democratic socialist.

A reality TV star who has been a staple on TMZ.The top three candidates for Los Angeles mayor — incumbent Karen Bass, Councilmember Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt of MTV’s “The Hills” — are fighting to secure an edge in Tuesday’s primary, capping one of the most unusual election seasons in city history.L.A.voters have seen the arrival of AI campaign videos, an influx of dark money mailers and national media coverage from US Weekly, Vanity Fair and many other outlets, thanks in large part to Pratt.Raman is neck and neck with Bass, with Pratt close on their heels, according to the most recent poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, which was co-sponsored by The Times.“I definitely think anyone has a shot,” said Parke Skelton, a Democratic political strategist who worked for Bass’ first mayoral campaign.

“There’s two chairs and three contestants, and the music will stop and one will be without a chair.”If none of the candidates wins a majority in Tuesday’s primary, the top two vote-getters will face off in the Nov.3 general election.Such a close contest would have been unthinkable two years ago.

In 2024, Bass was riding high in the polls and an array of politicians, including Raman, relied on her endorsement for their own campaigns.But Bass’ approval ratings nosedived after the Palisades fire, which destroyed thousands of homes and left 12 people dead.Angry residents of Pacific Palisades, including Pratt, who lost his home, railed at city leaders over an empty reservoir, poor deployment of Fire Department resources and the fact that it was caused by a week-old blaze that wasn’t fully extinguished.

On the day the fire erupted, amid increasingly urgent forecasts of high wind warnings, the mayor was away on a diplomatic trip to Ghana.Bass now finds herself battling for a second and fi...