L.A. Mayoral Candidate Spencer Pratt Looks Set To Face Incumbent Karen Bass—After Vowing To Solve City’s Homelessness Crisis

Former reality star Spencer Pratt is poised to advance to the November runoff in the Los Angeles mayoral race alongside incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, who successfully held off her challengers to maintain the lead.

Bass, a Democrat, received nearly 35% of the votes in early returns, followed by Pratt, a registered Republican running as an independent, in second place with 30%, according to the Associated Press 

Meanwhile, progressive City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, was at 22% as of Wednesday morning. The AP has declared Bass a finalist for the general election, but has yet to declare Pratt's advancement, due to the late-changing nature of California elections, in which mail-in ballots often trickle in.

Under California's nonpartisan, top-two voting rule, Bass and Pratt appear set to face each other on the general election ballot in the fall. The matchup offers longshot candidate Pratt perhaps his best path to the mayor's office, as he has positioned himself as a maverick outsider and severely criticized Bass' handling of the 2025 wildfires, which destroyed Pratt's home.

Addressing reporters Tuesday night, Pratt, 42, said he was "ready for whatever God" had in store for him, signaling that he was unfazed by the upcoming battle with Bass, a former congresswoman.

"This is not a candidate that I'm too concerned about," said the first-time mayoral hopeful.

Pratt then went on to criticize Bass' record as mayor, claiming that she has allowed Los Angeles to become a city "covered in potholes" where homeless drug addicts are "shooting up fentanyl with their pants off."

"I got in this because as a citizen, I felt like my city failed—myself, my neighbors, my family," he added.

Pratt, who gained fame on the MTV reality show "The Hills," has made combating homelessness a cornerstones of his campaign, calling himself an "Angeleno who's had enough."

Pratt, who along with his wife, Heidi Montag, lost their $2.5 million home in last year's devastating wildfires, has also been a vocal critic of the city and state's response to the disaster, and the slow pace of recovery.

Pratt and Montag have said they cannot afford to rebuild their three-bedroom home in the tony Pacific Palisades enclave and have been relying on temporary housing arrangements, including a rental in Santa Barbara, CA, and an Airstream trailer parked on their burned lot, for the past year and a half.

In the lead-up to Tuesday's primary, Pratt vowed to move out of L.A. if he is not elected mayor, declaring that he does not want to raise his children in a city that is filled with "naked zombies."

Meanwhile, Bass has acknowledged making missteps in her first term but pointed to a decrease in homelessness and a historically low homicide rate as evidence of progress, reported the Associated Press.

“We are going to continue moving our city forward because this is the greatest city in the world," the incumbent told a crowd of supporters Tuesday.

Incumbent's record on housing

During the campaign, Bass touted her Executive Directive One (ED1), issued during her first week in office to speed up city approvals for 100% affordable apartment projects, reported LAist.

While tens of thousands of units have been greenlit and over 8,000 have been permitted, fewer than 300 have been actually built, with the mayor blaming variables she says are outside of her control, including the cost of building materials and the general economy.

"We are going to continue building the housing that we know [is] needed in this city," Bass said overnight.

On the issue of where to build multi-family housing, Bass has advocated for bringings new apartment buildings to commercial main streets rather than residential neighborhoods.

She also asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto state legislation that would allow denser buildings near transit stops in single-family communities, a measure that is touted by pro-housing advocates.

On Measure ULA, known colloquially as "Mansion Tax", Bass previously asked state lawmakers to withdraw a bill aimed at reforming the levy, arguing that more changes were required to get the policy right.

The controversial policy adds a 4% tax on the total transaction for property sales of $5.3 million to $10.6 million and a 5.5% rate for sales above $10.6 million. Contrary to its moniker, the tax applies not only to "mansions" but also to apartment buildings and commercial real estate.

Studies have shown that while Measure ULA has generated more than $1 billion earmarked for affordable housing and tenant protections, it has slowed down multi-family construction.

Pratt promises housing boom

Pratt, a reality star-turned-politician, has vowed to speed up building in Los Angeles and reintroduce Art Deco architecture to the city.

As part of his platform, Pratt has pledged to bring 20,000 new housing units in downtown L.A. by "getting rid of" homeless people and drug addicts sleeping outside vacant buildings.

"We have plenty of places to build," said Pratt. "We don’t need to put a seven-story cement structure in a single-family neighborhood with no parking."

In the aftermath of the wildfires, Pratt used his social media platform to amplify false claims that a proposed state law would bring high-rises to his residential community of Pacific Palisades, which was ravaged by the January 2025 infernos.