WATCH: Spencer Pratt 'catching fire' among frustrated LA Democrats, House lawmaker says

Spencer Pratt Positions Himself as Common-Sense Alternative in Crowded LA Mayor's Race

Spencer Pratt, a former reality television personality turned political outsider, is mounting an unexpectedly competitive campaign for mayor of Los Angeles, drawing support from voters frustrated with the direction of the city under incumbent Karen Bass.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Rep. Darrell Issa, a senior California Republican, said Pratt has struck a chord in the heavily Democratic city by focusing on practical concerns rather than partisan politics. "He's catching fire among ardent historic Democrat voters because Karen Bass has been so ineffective," Issa said. "And every time she opens her mouth, she's talking about more of the same to people who have seen their streets, both crime-ridden and in fact … ineffectively managed."

Pratt, best known for his years on MTV's "The Hills," entered the political spotlight after losing his Pacific Palisades home in the wildfires that destroyed more than 18,000 structures across Los Angeles. He has since made Bass's handling of the fires and the sluggish recovery a central theme of his campaign, while also criticizing the mayor's approach to street homelessness, drug addiction and crime.

The June 2 primary is nonpartisan, with Pratt running as an independent against Bass and socialist City Council member Nithya Raman. Because no candidate is expected to clear the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright, the top two finishers will advance to a November runoff. Recent polling has shown all three candidates essentially tied.

Bass retains the backing of prominent California Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom. She also benefits from a significant financial advantage, with aligned organizations airing ads that highlight Pratt's status as a registered Republican, even though he is officially running without a party label. Pratt faces an uphill battle in a city where fewer than one in five voters identifies with the GOP.

But Issa pointed to historical precedent, noting that Los Angeles has previously elected mayors with Republican ties. "I will say that Dick Riordan, now deceased, but a Republican who was mayor a generation ago, had that same sort of common sense … and he did resonate. He was elected," Issa said. "He goes down in history as a period in which Los Angeles did improve very much, like New York and Rudy Giuliani." Riordan, the last Republican to hold the mayoralty, won a second term in 1997. More recently, billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who switched from Republican to Democrat, spent more than $100 million on his 2022 campaign against Bass and still lost.

Pratt has worked to keep the race focused on local issues, sidestepping questions about national political endorsements. In a recent interview with NBC News, he framed the contest in unusually direct terms. "In LA, they want to feel safe, they don't want to step in human poop," Pratt said. "I don't need to have personal opinions about anybody that doesn't affect them stepping in human poop."

Pressed about vocal support from President Donald Trump, Pratt was similarly dismissive of outside validation. "I don't need anyone's endorsement but mothers'. That's who's getting me elected," he said. Trump has not yet issued a formal endorsement of Pratt's campaign.

The race has already generated unusual attention beyond traditional political circles. An NBA star recently placed a $36,000 bet on Pratt winning the contest, reflecting the candidate's emergence as a cultural phenomenon as much as a political contender.

With the primary weeks away, Pratt's challenge to the city's political establishment amounts to a test of whether voter frustration with conditions on the ground can overcome Los Angeles' deep Democratic roots and Bass's institutional advantages. Whether that frustration is enough to carry an unconventional candidate into the November runoff remains the central question of a race that has defied expectations from the start.