In a narrow race, Karen Bass confirmed to continue to November runoff election as Spencer Pratt appears poised to come in second place
Current Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass secured enough votes to advance to a November runoff in her bid for re-election, but who she faces off against is still unknown.
Reality TV star Spencer Pratt seemingly gained second place with around 30% of the vote, placing him ahead of City Councilwoman Nithya Raman at about 22% as of early Wednesday morning, and closed the gap on Mayor Bass overnight.
The top two finishers of this election will move on to a runoff on Nov. 3 if no candidate received more than 50% of all votes cast in Tuesday’s primary, which seems to be the case.
This year, there were 14 candidates for voters to choose from, including Raman and Pratt, who ran on a wide range of issues impacting L.A., including, but not limited to, recovery from the devastating 2025 wildfires, homelessness, and ICE operations.
Though the primary was nonpartisan, Bass served in Congress as a Democrat, Raman describes herself as a Democrat and Pratt is a registered Republican.
For Bass’ reelection campaign, she promises to continue to make L.A. safer and more affordable, and has established herself as a candidate who is ready to take on the Trump administration.
“We are going to continue moving our city forward because this is the greatest city in the world and I just want to tell you from the bottom of my heart, I love you, I appreciate you for believing in me and standing with me when others doubted me because you know who I am,” Bass said.
When she kicked off her campaign in December 2025, Bass highlighted her accomplishments in addressing affordability, reducing homelessness and bringing back business to the downtown area. She added that the city had made progress in reducing crime and working toward its zero-emissions goal.
Scroll to continue reading
Pratt, a former reality TV star, challenges Bass in a campaign centered on criticism of the city’s disaster response and the government’s response to the fire that destroyed his home. Pratt has stated he decided to run because of his disappointment with the current administration.
“Mayor Bass has allowed the city to become covered in potholes,” Pratt said. “Then there’s the moms who want to be able to go to the parks and not see anybody shooting up fentanyl with their pants off.”
According to his campaign website, he is campaigning on public safety, small business empowerment and a treatment-first approach to homelessness in addition to emergency readiness.
As an L.A. City Council member, Raman’s last-minute campaign announcement for mayor came after mounting frustration with not being able to help her constituents. Raman has worked closely with Bass on homelessness and housing, but Raman says L.A. is reaching a tipping point.
“I’ve hit up against my limitations as a council member,” Raman said. “I’ve done a lot, but to do what needs to be done at this moment, to make sure departments are doing their job, to make sure that we’re organized to face the incredible moment of crisis and challenge that we’re at right now, we need to be doing something differently at the very top.”
She emphasizes how families are being priced out, housing is not being built fast enough and the struggle of the city’s government to deliver on basic resources. Raman has served on the council for five years, and with her bid for mayor, some have called her the next Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist mayor of New York City.
Overnight, the polling numbers tightened for Bass after her 7-point lead over Pratt, which was 36% to 29%, shrank to just 4 points.
A Nov. 3 runoff would coincide with the statewide general election.