Commentary: Spencer Pratt could have been a real contender. His greatest enemy was himself
This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Spencer Pratt had a few things going for him when he launched an insurgent campaign to become Los Angeles’ next mayor.He had a heart-tugging origin story that saw him transform from a has-been television star into one of the thousands of residents who lost their home in last year’s Palisades fire.
He faced an unpopular incumbent in Mayor Karen Bass.He was powered by a vigorous social media presence and an angry electorate thirsty for change.He was able to capitalize on those conditions to outraise his main rivals, Bass and city council member Nithya Raman, and transform his candidacy from an afterthought into a national story.
Running as a Republican in a super-blue city like L.A.put him at an automatic disadvantage — one that might have been extremely difficult to overcome in the end.
But the Pratt posse started to feel like a bona fide movement the more it thundered on, the type of revolt against the old guard that in previous eras led to the passage of Proposition 13 and the recall of Gov.Gray Davis — the type of movements that forever alter California politics.Pratt, however, faced an apparently insurmountable obstacle.
Pratt.California From a reality TV antagonist to a contender in the L.A.
mayoral race, Spencer Pratt has jolted local politics, turning personal tragedy in the Palisades fire into a 2026 election campaign.With almost all votes counted, he’s going to finish in third place with about 26% of the electorate — the same slice Donald Trump received in 2024 — while Bass and Raman proceed to face each other in November.Political strategists will teach his failed attempt to their clients as a cautionary tale of how a candidate blew every advantage they had when they couldn’t afford to lose one.Pratt’s first mistake was thinking that Angelenos wanted a campaign of wanton rage.
Yes, many residents are furious at the state of the city.Yes, they want ...