Reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, long dismissed as a novelty contender, is gaining unexpected traction in Los Angeles’s mayoral race after a campaign ad casting him as both an outsider and a wildfire victim went viral.
The 30-second video, released Wednesday on social media, opens outside Mayor Karen Bass‘s home before cutting to rival Nithya Raman’s $3 million residence. It then shifts into a rapid montage of homeless encampments, fires, graffiti, traffic, and urban decay, before landing on a trailer.
“This is where I live,” Pratt says in front of the trailer. “They let my home burn down. I know what the consequences of failed leadership are. That’s why I’m running for mayor, for my sons, and the rest of us Angelinos that want to stop these corrupt politicians from destroying our city.”
The ad has racked up more than 8.6 million views on X as of midday Thursday and comes as prediction platform Polymarket suggests a tightening race. Pratt stands at 20% odds, narrowly ahead of Bass at 19%, while Raman remains the frontrunner at 58%.
Pratt, who rose to fame on MTV’s The Hills, and Raman, a Los Angeles City Council member representing the 4th District, are both aiming to unseat Bass in the June 2 primary. Since Jan. 1, Pratt has raised nearly $540,000, according to the city’s Ethics Commission. Raman, who entered the race in February, brought in $530,000 during the April 18 filing period, much of it from entertainment industry donors.
Fundraising aside, the most telling figure in the race may be the large bloc of undecided voters. A recent poll from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs found that 40% of voters have yet to make up their minds. Among those who have, Bass leads with 25%, followed by Pratt at 11% and Raman at 9%, leaving the field wide open with no candidate close to a majority. There are 14 candidates in the primary contest. If no candidate wins the majority, the top two vote-getters will face off in the November general election.
“It is unusual for 40% of likely voters to be unsure of their choice just two months before an LA mayoralty election,” Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin and who served for decades as an elected leader in Los Angeles city and county, said in a statement.
In addition to thought-provoking ads, Pratt has also secured a slate of high-profile endorsements, including podcaster Joe Rogan, Adam Carolla, Richard Grenell — a special envoy under President Donald Trump — conservative media figure Benny Johnson, and California gubernatorial frontrunner Steve Hilton.
After the release of Pratt’s “They not like us” ad, conservative commentator Meghan McCain weighed in on social media: “I’m telling you this guy is going to win.”
Others remain skeptical.
Media and culture expert Kaivan Shroff told the Washington Examiner that while Pratt has a “compelling personal narrative” bolstered by name recognition and notable endorsements, his path to victory remains “a long shot.”
“The more partisan power brokers line up behind him, the more he will be seen as a GOP plant as opposed to a political outsider,” Shroff said. “The reality is nobody was paying attention to Pratt for the last decade or so. He was selling crystals and has no credible experience to bring to the race.”
Shroff also pointed to Pratt’s turbulent personal history as a potential liability if he advances to the general election.
“For example, he claimed his sister said ‘the only thing that keeps her happy’ is his bid for mayor,” Shroff said. “But she then came out and told people voting for her brother would be ‘a vote for stupidity’ and claimed he beat her up and got her hooked on drugs. That is barely scratching the surface of what we might see come out with someone like this who hasn’t been properly vetted and is riding a wave of reality stars running for office.”
Pratt launched his campaign in January on the anniversary of last year’s devastating fires, using the moment to sharpen his criticism of Bass’s leadership. Speaking at a neighborhood rally, he framed his candidacy in sweeping terms.
“This isn’t a campaign — it’s a mission,” he said. “We’re going to shine a light into every corner of this city, expose what’s broken, and rebuild LA into something people can believe in again.”
The fires struck close to home, destroying both Pratt’s Pacific Palisades residence and his parents’ house. Rebuilding efforts in the area have lagged, with only a few hundred projects underway out of more than 6,000 structures lost.
SPENCER PRATT LAUNCHES BID FOR LA MAYOR ON ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF PALISADES FIRE
In the months since, Pratt has leaned into his sizable social media following — 941,000 on X and 1.3 million on Instagram — to criticize local and state officials, including Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), accusing them of failing to prevent what he calls an avoidable disaster.
“When you actually look at everything, it doesn’t add up — it’s been spun into something it wasn’t,” he told Variety in August. “This was preventable. People died who shouldn’t have. That’s not just a mistake — that’s negligence.”
Although municipal elections in California are officially nonpartisan, Pratt, who is affiliated with Republicans both through his work and endorsements, has sought to present himself as a cross-party figure. He has also signaled an openness to working with the Trump administration as he pursues what he calls “real answers” to the city’s challenges.