LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt looked more like a celebrity greeting fans than a first-time politician making one of his last campaign stops. Dressed in a gray suit, blue shirt, and a black “Pratt for Los Angeles” ball cap, he spent Sunday afternoon weaving through a crowd of supporters, posing for photos, and hearing complaints about the direction of Los Angeles ahead of Election Day.
Addressing attendees, Pratt said he could feel the “hope and inspiration” of voters and argued that “common sense” motivates him despite what he described as attacks from critics.
“I just want people to feel safe,” Pratt, a father of two whose Pacific Palisades home burned down in last year’s fires, said. “I want families to be able to thrive in this city, and it takes the whole city to actually change. I’m just being the voice of the community. A lot of people say, ‘Oh, he doesn’t have any experience,’ but we all have the experience of living in this city. We know what needs to be changed, and as a city, we will change it together. I’m just going to be the one fighting for the communities, being the voice of the constituents, and taking on City Hall.”
There are 14 candidates on the ballot, though only five, including Pratt, are viewed as serious contenders. 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 was polling in the low single digits. Despite having no government experience, he has gained traction by positioning himself as an outsider railing against what he calls “failed leadership” and 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.”
Marie Palmer, who attended Sunday’s event wearing a custom blue “Pratt for Los Angeles” T-shirt, said she is tired of watching the city decline.
“It’s sad to see what it’s turned into,” she told the Washington Examiner. “And the people that are running it right now don’t care about LA. If they did, it wouldn’t be the way it is, and I believe that this man, Spencer Pratt, will make a difference in LA. He’ll change it.”
Danielle Klepper, another attendee, said she has followed Pratt’s campaign since he entered the race and has been impressed by his evolution as a candidate.
“I’m excited to see what he’s been doing and the changes that he wants to make in the city,” she said. “It’s incredible. Everything that he stands for, and just standing up for what he believes in. I’m just really supportive of everything that he’s been doing, and just watching him transition into what he’s doing now.”
Pratt, who shot to stardom after starring in the reality show The Hills, has spent years finding new ways to remain in the public eye, moving from television to social media ventures and a series of business projects. To critics, his mayoral bid is simply the latest reinvention rather than a genuine call to public service.
That perception intensified after reports surfaced that a production company was interested in documenting his campaign and potentially continuing filming if he won. Pratt disputed the reports, but the episode reinforced a narrative among skeptics that nearly everything in his orbit eventually becomes content.
For those critics, that’s the concern.
“Running Los Angeles is not a television role, a branding exercise, or a social media project,” Los Angeles Democrat John Anghost told the Washington Examiner, adding that it requires managing policy, budgets, and one of the country’s largest municipal bureaucracies. “Is [Pratt] up to the task of doing the everyday, less glamorous task of governing, or does he just want attention? I’ve struggled with that a lot. His entire being seems to be built on getting attention.”
Pratt’s longtime friend Derrick Johnson argued that his success in entertainment demonstrates leadership and business skills that critics often overlook.
“Most people know him from his experience as an entertainer on television,” he told the Washington Examiner. “They say he has no job, but literally, you know him because of his job. You know him because he sold a show at 20 years old to Fox and became one of the youngest executive producers in Hollywood. He became a hit on the show The Hills because of that job, because of the greatness. Even though the storylines were not real, even though all the things that people say — well, how can he handle the city budget when he can’t handle his own budget — they say he’s been bankrupt multiple times… he has never been bankrupt. You’re following a story that was sold to you.”
Anghost countered that that was part of the problem.
“You never know what you’re going to get with him,” he said. “Is it all a big grift? Are we in for a ‘gotcha’ moment in the end, when the cameras come out?”
SPENCER PRATT WILL ENFORCE ‘LAWS DEMOCRATS VOTED FOR’ AS LOS ANGELES MAYOR
Pratt and his supporters insist he’s the real deal.
“He’s not just for himself or for any selfish reasons,” Klepper said. “He’s for everybody.”
