<\/p>\n
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt gets shown around the neighborhood by Maggie Quiroz during a campaign event Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Jill Connelly\/AP Photo\/Jill Connelly<\/p>\n
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt during a campaign event Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Jill Connelly\/AP Photo\/Jill Connelly<\/p>\n
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt meets Thomas Alhambra, 98, during a campaign event Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Jill Connelly\/AP Photo\/Jill Connelly<\/p>\n
Supporter listen to Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt during a block party campaign event Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Jill Connelly\/AP Photo\/Jill Connelly<\/p>\n
Neighbors talk during a block party campaign event for Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Jill Connelly\/AP Photo\/Jill Connelly<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 He wrote a memoir called \u201cThe Guy You Loved to Hate.\u201d He’s dabbled in rap, releasing a song called \u201cI\u2019m a Celebrity.” He started a company selling crystals claimed to have healing properties.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But Spencer Pratt was not able to pull off his latest venture \u2014 an improbable bid to become mayor of Los Angeles. The Associated Press determined Monday that the onetime reality television personality did not qualify for the November runoff to unseat embattled incumbent Karen Bass.<\/p>\n
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Instead of Pratt, a Republican who received a nod of approval from President Donald Trump, Bass will face progressive Nithya Raman, a city council member who had challenged the Democratic mayor from the political left.<\/p>\n
Pratt’s candidacy was fueled by celebrity \u2014 he starred on \u201cThe Hills,\u201d a show about young people in Los Angeles \u2014 and videos that supporters generated with artificial intelligence. But his campaign also reflected frustration that political leaders have been unable or unwilling to address chronic problems. Pratt had relentlessly focused on homelessness, crime and decay that’s marred a city otherwise known for its culinary scene, postcard scenery and a global entertainment industry.<\/p>\n
“Enough is enough,\u201d Pratt often said on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n
Officials spent days tallying votes from the June 2 primary, typical in a state where slow counting has made the process a target for frustration and conspiracy theories. On Friday, Pratt posted photos of himself outside city hall with a single word \u2014 \u201cPatience.\u201d<\/p>\n
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No Republican has won a mayor\u2019s race in Los Angeles since 1997, and Pratt faced a steep climb as a first-time candidate. His political ambitions were forged by tragedy that added grit to his tabloid backstory. His house was one of thousands destroyed in last year’s Palisades Fire, the most destructive in city history.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where I live,” Pratt said in a campaign video while standing in front of a trailer parked on the ruins of his property. “They let my home burn down. I know what the consequences of failed leadership are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Never mind that Pratt didn’t actually live in the trailer \u2014 TMZ later reported he was living with his wife and two young boys in the luxurious Hotel Bel-Air. His outrage mirrored broader dissatisfaction with Bass, a Democrat who was on a presidential delegation to Ghana when the blaze began and has faced criticism for the slow pace of rebuilding.<\/p>\n
Some Angelenos are desperate for change<\/p>\n
Dennis Kamrany, a lifelong Pacific Palisades resident who sells real estate and is waiting for his home’s gas lines to be reconnected more than a year after they were damaged in the fire, said Pratt’s political inexperience didn’t matter.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019d rather have someone that\u2019s a fighter, that has energy, that\u2019s young, that is talking about common sense policies,” he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the hell do we have to lose?\u201d he added. \u201cWe\u2019re already in the dumps. Give somebody else a shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve Hilton, a conservative commentator who became the leading Republican candidate for governor, saw Pratt’s candidacy along with his own as signals that California voters are desperate for a break from the state’s prevailing liberal governance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve got a failed and broken system and you’ve got a couple of outsiders who’ve never run for office before,\u201d Hilton said of himself and Pratt. \u201cThis is our moment.”<\/p>\n
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Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in California by nearly 2-to-1 statewide, and Republicans account for under 15% of registered voters in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
With that math working against Pratt, there were simply not enough Los Angeles voters who believed he should be given a chance to oversee a $15 billion budget and 50,000 municipal workers, including roughly 8,600 police officers, in the nation’s second-largest city.<\/p>\n
Billionaire businessman Rick Caruso faced a similar challenge in 2022, when he ran against Bass for mayor. The Republican-turned-Democrat spent over $100 million, most of it his own money, on a campaign focused on public safety, and he lost by nearly 10 points.<\/p>\n
Deanna Crane, 33, said she wanted \u201canyone with a pulse other than Spencer Pratt\u201d for mayor.<\/p>\n
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Although she shared Pratt’s dissatisfaction with how Bass handled last year’s fires, she voted for Raman instead.<\/p>\n
Pratt rose through celebrity circles<\/p>\n
Pratt is a product of the early aughts youth reality television boom in Los Angeles, where he entrenched himself for the better part of two decades. His breakthrough came when he joined the second season of \u201cThe Hills\u201d as Heidi Montag\u2019s boyfriend. The couple \u2014 especially Pratt \u2014 embraced their onscreen personas as fame-seeking television villains, even publishing a book, \u201cHow to Be Famous: Our Guide to Looking the Part, Playing the Press, and Becoming a Tabloid Fixture\u201d in 2009, the year they married.<\/p>\n
There was little, it seems, that Pratt wouldn\u2019t do for a headline or in the name of publicity.<\/p>\n
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He claimed responsibility for spreading rumors about a sex tape featuring \u201cThe Hills\u201d star Lauren Conrad, but later denied it. A year and a half after marrying Montag, they filed for divorce; several months later, he said it was faked to boost Montag\u2019s fledgling music career. During their separation, he also was arrested and jailed in Costa Rica for attempting to board a flight with a firearm.<\/p>\n
In 2018, he talked about how he blew through a $10 million net worth in pursuit of a lavish lifestyle, replete with $4,000 bottles of wine and $1 million worth of crystals. He also started a company, Pratt Daddy, that sells crystals. The website explains that the crystals helped heal Montag\u2019s post-surgery pain \u201cthat even morphine could not relieve.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the family’s home was destroyed in the Palisades Fire, they faced backlash for accepting money from fans. Pratt insisted they were not rich even before losing everything. He also turned to TikTok videos as a source of revenue, tried to get a reality show going about their rebuilding process, and started encouraging fans to stream Montag\u2019s music, including her 15-year-old album \u201cSuperficial.\u201d<\/p>\n
It hit No. 1 on iTunes, thanks to support from the likes of Paris Hilton, Alix Earle and Flavor Flav. He celebrated with a video on Instagram.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWho needs a house, who needs clothes, who needs anything but this level of clout, pop, superstardom?\u201d Pratt said.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles faces steep challenges<\/p>\n
The next mayor will likely become an international figure when Los Angeles hosts the Olympics in 2028.<\/p>\n
But a falling population in the region speaks to frustration with taxes, traffic and the cost of just about everything.<\/p>\n
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Although statistics suggest that the city has made headway on homelessness, makeshift encampments and rows of rusting RVs remain commonplace. Dirty, pocked streets and sidewalks abound.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hollywood jobs have been decamping for years to more affordable filming locales. The restaurant industry has been ailing.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles’ ailments had some voters willing to take a chance on Pratt.<\/p>\n
Susie Tho, 38, came to wait outside Pratt\u2019s primary night party hoping to shake his hand.<\/p>\n
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Tho said she is a Democrat but voted for Pratt. She was born and raised in Los Angeles and said she was voting for a change after feeling like the city has \u201cgone downhill.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Pratt first announced his candidacy, she was apprehensive. but she said he won her over with his debate performance, which she called sharp and prepared.<\/p>\n
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By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted a clean and safe street for my child to grow up in,\u201d Tho said. \u201cI miss the LA that I grew up in.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Associated Press writer Jaimie Ding contributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt gets shown around the neighborhood by Maggie Quiroz during a campaign event…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[79238,144040,144041,536,64879,4132,48,52,51,114052,47,50,144038,49,2390,2391,3263,2386,118968,2387,2388,2389,118969,20923,43125,17382,144039],"class_list":["post-352666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-alix-earle","tag-deanna-crane","tag-dennis-kamrany","tag-donald-trump","tag-heidi-montag","tag-karen-bass","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-lauren-conrad","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-mayor-spencer-pratt-karen-bass","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-package-100024-ap-online","tag-package-100373-mc-complete-state-national","tag-product-30031-ap-california-state-news-no-weather","tag-product-30598-ap-national-news-report-a-wire","tag-product-31388-premium-entertainment","tag-product-31998-ap-online-national-news","tag-product-32510-ap-online-general-election-news","tag-product-32520-ap-online-other-u-s-government-news","tag-product-33328-ap-premium-entertainment-other","tag-rick-caruso","tag-spencer-pratt","tag-steve-hilton","tag-susie-tho"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}