Spencer Pratt crushes Nithya Raman in LA mayor early voting

Spencer Pratt is not just your favorite 2000s reality TV villain anymore. He is now a legitimate force in Los Angeles mayoral politics. With 47% of the vote counted on election night, Pratt was polling a full 10 points ahead of incumbent councilmember Nithya Raman, positioning him as the clear second-place contender behind Karen Bass, who has already secured her spot in the November runoff. At his election night party, Pratt told press, "The communists already lost." That line, as hyperbolic as it sounds, captures the energy propelling his unlikely campaign: an anti-left, anti-establishment pitch wrapped in the charisma of a former "The Hills" star who knows how to command a camera.

Pratt's lead over Raman was not a fluke of early counting. He built it on a simple, aggressive message: Angelenos have stopped caring about their city, and only voting-specifically, voting for him-can fix that. "My goal by November, whether it's you're voting for me or you're voting for Mayor Bass, I'm going to get more people to vote," he said. He doubled down on the importance of turnout, claiming the city's civic malaise is the real enemy. "Everybody's giving up because they've just accepted failure. Nothing changes. Things can change if you vote." That message seems to have resonated with a slice of the electorate that feels left behind by the city's progressive leadership. For context, Raman first won her city council seat in 2020 on a wave of left-leaning enthusiasm, backed by grassroots volunteers and comedians like Adam Conover. But the political winds have shifted. Voters are frustrated with homelessness, public safety, and the cost of living-issues that don't break neatly along ideological lines. Pratt has capitalized on that frustration by offering not policy depth, but a simple binary: you're either with the do-nothing left or with someone who will shake things up.

Raman's camp, for its part, is not conceding. Her team pointed to the hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots yet to be counted-ballots that historically trend left. "We are hopeful that the mail-in ballots... will help the city councilmember advance to a runoff," an attendee at her party told TheWrap. The campaign had knocked on 1.5 million doors during a four-month blitz that began only after Raman filed to run minutes before the deadline. In a 12-minute speech, she thanked her volunteers and did not concede, noting there are thousands of votes left. The mood at her party was upbeat, buoyed by the possibility that late-counted ballots could close the gap. Adam Conover, a vocal supporter, accused Pratt of describing Los Angeles "in apocalyptic tones" rather than offering the optimistic vision Raman has championed. But the early numbers are stark: Pratt is ahead, and the gap is not trivial.

For executives, investors, and operators watching this race, the stakes go beyond who becomes LA's next mayor. This is a case study in how cultural capital and anti-establishment messaging can reshape a local political landscape. Pratt has no traditional political resume. He is famous for being famous-a reality star from a show that ended over a decade ago. Yet he is beating an incumbent councilmember with a base of committed volunteers and institutional support. That is a data point worth paying attention to. It suggests that in a city defined by its entertainment industry, celebrity is not just a credential-it can be a competitive advantage against established political machinery. And the content of the message may matter less than the energy behind it. Pratt isn't offering detailed policy proposals; he is offering a vibe of disruption and a foil ("the communists") that energizes a base. That is a playbook we have seen at the national level, and now it's showing up in local races.

The second-order implications are significant. If Pratt wins the primary outright-or even if he loses narrowly but drives high turnout-it will send a signal to every future candidate in every major city: cultural relevance and anti-left messaging can beat institutional support and door-knocking campaigns. Raman's team knocked on 1.5 million doors. Pratt did not need to. He had name recognition, a social media following, and the ability to generate earned media. That is a sobering lesson for any executive or board member who depends on traditional ground games for advocacy, whether in politics, corporate campaigns, or stakeholder engagement. The old rules of influence are being rewritten.

Meanwhile, the bottom line for November is clear: Karen Bass is in the runoff. The question is whether she will face Pratt or Raman. If it is Pratt, the general election will be a clash of establishment competence versus insurgent celebrity energy. If it is Raman, the race will be a more conventional ideological battle between the left and the center. Either way, the early returns already show that thousands of Angelenos are hungry for something different. Pratt's lead-and his boast that "the communists already lost"-is a preview of the tone that will dominate the next six months of campaigning. For anyone who manages risk, capital, or public perception in California's biggest city, this race is no longer a sideshow. It is a signal of where a significant portion of the electorate's head is at.