Spencer Pratt rose to fame as the antagonist on MTV’s reality television show, The Hills, but has powered his Los Angeles mayoral campaign with civic outrage after his house burned to the ground in the Palisades fire last year.
Now, critics are saying the political newcomer may be moving too far, too fast, with rivals exposing cracks in his proposals and inconsistencies in his statements. But his fan base and social media supporters keep growing, aided in part by Elon Musk‘s repeated reposts and replies on X.
A registered Republican, Pratt, 42, has successfully channeled his anger and frustration into broadsides against current Mayor Karen Bass (D), Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), and other Democrats who have managed the city for years.
Popular AI-generated videos depicting Pratt battling Bass with lightsabers or portraying himself as Batman descending onto a burning Los Angeles have racked up millions of views online. His campaign has embraced an aggressive digital strategy, leaning heavily on viral clips and anti-establishment messaging to reach voters frustrated by crime, homelessness, and public safety concerns.
Pratt further raised his standing after the campaign’s first televised debate, where he aggressively challenged Bass and Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who represents the city’s 4th District.
“Spencer Pratt is not a joke,” Jeff Burton, a former senior National Republican Congressional Committee official and partner at Maven Advocacy, told the Washington Examiner. “Every nonpolitical person I know in LA knows who Pratt is and is planning to vote for him.”
Pratt launched his campaign in January on the anniversary of the Palisades fire, framing the race as a rebellion against city leadership.
“This isn’t a campaign — it’s a mission,” Pratt said at a neighborhood rally. “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.”
Fourteen candidates are on the ballot, though only five, including Pratt, are viewed as serious contenders ahead of the June 2 primary. Recent Emerson College polling showed Bass leading the field, with Pratt and Raman competing closely for second place.
Under California’s top-two primary system, the two highest vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote.
Not long ago, Pratt’s campaign was polling in the low single digits. Despite having no government experience, he has made progress by positioning himself as an outsider railing against what he calls “failed leadership,” while capitalizing on voter frustration with City Hall.
“Pratt has certainly gained momentum, and what is surprising is to see Democrats caught so flat-footed 10 years after Trump’s rise,” media and culture expert Kaivan Shroff told the Washington Examiner. “We see them whipping out the same tactics: focusing on his scandals and lack of qualifications while rattling off statistics about how things have actually gotten better in the city.”
Shroff noted that Bass has recorded measurable progress on issues such as homelessness, violent crime, and Los Angeles Police Department recruitment, but argued that many voters still feel uneasy about the city’s direction.
“Pratt has tapped into that dynamic with his viral AI ads and social media posts,” he added. “He is validating how folks feel despite the facts, and he is dominating the narrative. That said, he likely has a ceiling of support in a Democratic city like LA, and I’d imagine he is close to hitting that ceiling.”
Still, critics insist Pratt’s candidacy is fueled more by celebrity and online spectacle than substantive policy. Rivals have questioned whether he possesses the experience or depth needed to govern the nation’s second-largest city, particularly on complex issues such as housing affordability, homelessness, and economic development.
Some of Pratt’s proposals, including involuntary temporary psychiatric holds for homeless individuals, would probably face significant legal and logistical hurdles that critics say he has not fully addressed.
Pratt has largely brushed aside concerns about his lack of experience. In a CBS News interview this month, he suggested he could pursue a law degree online before the general election.
“Before November, I can probably get one,” Pratt said, adding that he planned to take California’s “baby bar” exam for nontraditional legal students.
At a high-profile tennis fundraiser and white party hosted at a Beverly Hills mansion last weekend, Pratt joked openly about his political ambitions.
“It’s pretty incredible you can become the mayor with only 51% of people liking you,” he told attendees. “I’m like, ‘I can do that.’”
Questions about Pratt’s authenticity have also emerged in recent days. In one social media video, Pratt filmed himself in front of an Airstream trailer parked on his burned property, implying he was living there. Days later, TMZ reported spotting him staying at a five-star hotel.
Although Pratt has publicly described himself as politically independent and has said he admires former President Barack Obama, his campaign infrastructure has strong ties to Republican and pro-Trump networks.
President Donald Trump signaled support for Pratt this week, while Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk praised him on X for challenging “a failing system” and called him “authentically American.”
“Instead of speaking like a career politician, he’s speaking as an American who sees and deeply understands how fragile the simple things in life are when leadership fails,” Kirk posted.
Campaign finance disclosures filed with the Los Angeles Ethics Commission show Pratt’s campaign has paid more than $60,000 to June Cutter, head of America First California, a MAGA-aligned advocacy organization founded by former Trump aides.
The campaign has also spent more than $25,000 on consulting work with TAG Strategies, a firm whose past clients have included the Republican Party of Arizona and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), according to OpenSecrets.
Another Pratt campaign aide, Alan Pellacani, currently serves as a senior adviser to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). Calls seeking comment from Pellacani were not returned.
Pratt’s campaign headquarters is based out of a small tax services office in Imperial Beach, a San Diego County community near the U.S.-Mexico border, operated by the wife of former GOP Rep. Brian Bilbray. Pratt’s treasurer is Bilbray’s daughter, a former Republican Party delegate whose campaign email references an entity called “BB Campaigns,” about which little public information is available.
Records reviewed on OpenSecrets show Bilbray has earned millions of dollars in lobbying fees since leaving Congress, including work related to Los Angeles County’s efforts to influence federal policy and secure funding. Such arrangements are relatively common in California politics, where Democratic-led governments frequently retain former Republican lawmakers for their relationships with congressional committees, appropriators, and federal agencies.
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Steve Bannon, one of the chief architects of Trump’s MAGA movement, called Pratt “the most Trumpian candidate we’ve ever seen in terms of house style.”
“Trump’s superpower was bringing in people into politics who hate politics, and that’s what [Pratt’s] doing online right now,” he told NPR, adding that he would endorse Pratt but didn’t “want to hurt his chances of winning in LA.”