Spencer Pratt puts Karen Bass on notice as he swaggers into second place in early results of Los Angeles mayor’s race

Reality star Spencer Pratt gained attention when he stormed into second place in Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ closely watched Los Angeles mayoral race.

Pratt, already a registered Republican, and Bass’ other challengers forced the incumbent mayor into a runoff in Tuesday’s race.

With about 50 percent of the votes counted, Pratt appeared well positioned to join Bass on the November ballot. Progressive City Council member Nithya Raman ranked third.

“He knows this is happening,” Pratt told reporters Tuesday night outside the Mexican restaurant where he was hosting a private election watch party. ‘I hope he’s ready. ‘I literally couldn’t be more excited.’

He said he was ‘confident’ he could win over some supporters; But in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a third, the leading Democratic vote is more likely to center around Bass.

Pratt added that he would like to meet with Bass again on the debate stage. “We could debate every Friday if he wants,” Pratt said.

The Associated Press announced that Bass will participate in the November elections, but has not yet made an official statement about the second-place candidate.

Pratt’s position in the race could still change due to the widespread use of mail-in ballots in California, as Democratic-leaning votes were expected to follow after Election Day voting favored Republicans.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass addressed fans earlier in the night, even though the race was not called because it was clear it would go to a runoff in November.

The two names with the most votes will advance to the second round in November.

The Los Angeles Mayor’s race has turned into a revenge campaign against Bass at the hands of Pratt, an alum of the popular reality TV show The Hills who lost his $3 million home with his wife, Heidi Montag, in the Palisades fire in 2025.

Pratt drew support from user-generated AI videos and creative creatives from his own team; In these ads, the reality doyen promises to be an agent of change to take on the city’s massive homeless problem.

Bass was at the embassy cocktail party in Ghana while the Los Angeles fires were raging. According to the LA Times — has also attracted a rival from his political left, Raman, a progressive member of the Los Angeles City Council.

The race could have been won outright on Tuesday night, but with so many candidates on the ballot, it was long expected to go into a runoff.

A candidate needed to win a majority to avoid a runoff in November. Bass became the first Los Angeles mayor to advance to the second round since 2005.

Bass, a former congressman, described himself as a steady person who has made progress on reducing homelessness and crime.

The mayor addressed his supporters early as he showed signs of heading into a runoff, even though a race hasn’t been called yet.

‘We will build a city where parents and children will not have to wander around in tents, because in the second largest city in the country there should never be anyone sleeping on our streets,’ he said.

‘We are a city that can deal with this and we are doing it and we will continue to do so,’ he promised.

More generally, he has promised to do more if voters give him four more years.

Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt upset the Los Angeles mayor’s race by entering the contest in January. Pratt, a registered Republican, has launched a revenge campaign against incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass, whom he blames for the burning of her $3 million home.

Democratic Mayor Karen Bass has also attracted a leading challenger from her political left in L.A. City Council member Nithya Raman (pictured).

‘We want to bring change to our city and that’s what we’re doing and we’ll continue to do it,’ he said.

Raman joined the mayoral race in February, just hours before the filing deadline, even though he had previously been a political ally of Bass.

He was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, which had success in New York City with the election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who easily won the general election in November.

‘Los Angeles deserves a mayor who can’t drag his feet. Karen Bass promised change. Instead, Angelenos experienced delays,” Raman promised in a social media post ahead of Election Day.

Pratt entered the race on Jan. 7, the anniversary of the devastating Palisades fire.

Since then, he’s held Bass’ feet to the fire; Including ads in which she rapes the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, shows footage of what’s left of her house, and tells voters: ‘They burned my house down. ‘I know the consequences of failed leadership.’

In their only meeting during the discussion phase, Pratt said of Bass: ‘I blame this person for burning down my house.’

A later debate was canceled when Raman withdrew after Bass did so.

Billy Bush speaks to the press outside a viewing party in support of Republican reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who is running for mayor of Los Angeles

Reporters were pushed out of Spencer Pratt’s election night party and forced to broadcast from the sidewalk in front of the Mexican restaurant where Pratt’s family, friends and invited supporters had gathered

Spencer Pratt supporter Gregg Donovan holds a sign supporting the registered Republican Los Angeles mayoral candidate outside his election night party in Los Angeles on Tuesday

The former reality TV star told voters that votes for Raman were just another vote for Bass’ failed policies.

Pratt also vowed to “take back the golden age of Los Angeles,” reiterating President Donald Trump’s promise that a second term would be a “golden age” for America.

But the Republican has tried to keep his distance from national politics, downplaying his positive comments about Trump’s candidacy and the President’s claim that Pratt is a “MAGA person.”

“I’m someone who doesn’t like anybody,” he replied to Los Angeles’ ABC7’s question about Trump’s comments. In another interview he said his main constituency was ‘mothers’.

Still, Pratt had high rank in a Democratic-dominated city; The last time a Republican mayor was elected was in 1997.

Some of Pratt’s previous statements and interviews also became campaign material.

When he appeared on CNN with Jake Tapper last week, the reporter asked him about his 2009 appearance on right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ show, and he admitted that 9/11 was “100 percent” an inside job.

Pratt dismissed the comments as ‘young and naive’ and the 42-year-old actor said what he has since learned is that ‘it was actually negligence from people in power’.

Reality TV star couple Heidi Montag (left) and Spencer Pratt (right) appear at an event in March where Pratt was running for mayor of Los Angeles

A van advertising Republican Spencer Pratt’s mayoral bid in Los Angeles. Pratt focused his campaign on rebuilding Los Angeles after last year’s fires and reducing homelessness

Republican Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt is photographed delivering ice cream (left) and barbecue (right) at recent campaign events

Cookies featuring the face of reality TV star Spencer Pratt, the leading Republican candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, who became famous for appearing on the reality TV show The Hills with his future wife Heidi Montag

Spencer Pratt shocked the political world in January when he announced he would launch a campaign for mayor of Los Angeles on the one-year anniversary of the Palisades fire

‘When my house burned down and my parents’ house burned down, everyone was like, “It was lasers! It was a land grab! It was just like Maui!” That said, I would also love to go with them. But it’s not like that,’ he said. ‘The truth is that the people in charge are failing us as taxpayers.’

Pratt also appeared to have recovered after TMZ revealed that he was staying at the swanky Bel-Air Hotel and not the Airstream trailer he used in campaign ads.

The candidate’s security chief told the Daily Mail that “credible threats” against Pratt’s life had forced him to stay in a more secure facility, while Montag and the couple’s two sons remained in Carpinteria, outside Los Angeles.

Beyond Trump — and Vice President Kamala Harris, a Los Angeles resident who is the Democratic nominee in 2024, has endorsed Bass — a variety of celebrities and reality stars have also endorsed Pratt.

They include Joe Rogan, Laguna Beach veteran Kristin Cavallari, Vanderpump Rules’ Tom Schwartz, Dennis Quaid, Millionaire Matchmaker Patti Stanger and Kelsey Grammer.

Ahead of Election Day, the former reality star predicted a decisive victory despite polls showing Pratt in third place behind two Democrats.

But late Tuesday he was redefining his second-place position as unthinkable just months ago.

Still, if Pratt beats Bass, the numbers will be daunting.

It’s been 29 years since Los Angeles last elected a Republican mayor.