Title: Can a reality TV antagonist transform into the mayor of a major American metropolis?

Spencer Pratt, once infamous as a antagonist on MTV’s The Hills during the 2000s, is now pivoting from television drama to real-world politics. The 42-year-old, who previously worked as a publicist and later competed on Celebrity Big Brother, is emerging as a formidable challenger in the race for mayor of Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest city. Since declaring his candidacy in January, the Republican outsider has seen his standing in the polls climb significantly.

A poll released Thursday indicates that Pratt is locked in a close three-way battle with incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and city council member Nithya Raman ahead of Tuesday’s primary election. Because the primary is non-partisan, all candidates compete together regardless of party affiliation. The winner is determined by securing 50% or more of the vote; if no candidate achieves this majority, the top two vote-getters will proceed to the general election in November.

According to the UC Berkeley-LA Times poll, Mayor Bass currently holds a slight edge with 26% support among likely voters, followed closely by Raman at 25%. Pratt trails slightly behind with 22%. However, Pratt has significantly outpaced his opponents in fundraising. Between April 19 and May 16, he raised $2.7 million (£2 million)—nearly ten times the amount collected by Bass, a veteran local politician, and roughly seven times what Raman gathered during the same timeframe.

Pratt’s ability to gain traction as a Republican in a heavily liberal city has been fueled by a viral social media strategy. His campaign has leveraged TikTok rants, AI-generated videos mocking his rivals, and provocative political advertisements. His team has dismissed speculation that a reality show would be produced if he wins, stating, "We are going to get the golden age of Los Angeles back," a line that mirrors the "Make America Great Again" slogan used by Donald Trump, another former reality star turned politician.

Pratt’s entry into the mayoral contest followed the loss of his home in the catastrophic 2025 wildfires, among the most destructive in the region’s history. His campaign has heavily focused on this personal tragedy, accusing Bass of mishandling the crisis. He advocates for a platform centered on cleaning up and securing the city, promoting mandatory drug treatment to address homelessness, and labeling Los Angeles as unsafe and unclean.

Despite his rising profile, experts suggest he faces significant hurdles. Efrén Pérez, a political psychology professor at UCLA, notes that Los Angeles has not elected a Republican mayor since 2001. Pérez argues that Pratt’s base and policy platform remain narrow. While acknowledging Pratt’s connection to the tragedy—specifically the fires that destroyed the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood, where Pratt resided—Pérez points out that this demographic does not represent the city as a whole. "I'm not saying that there isn't any validity to being a spokesperson for - and potential improver of - the sort of tragedy that befell one very wealthy slice of LA," Pérez said. "But that wealthy slice of LA is not representative of the entire city."

Pratt’s opponents have been swift to criticize his qualifications. Mayor Bass dismissed Pratt’s background at a recent campaign event, stating, "It's not just that he has no experience in city government. I don't know that he's ever held a job in his life other than to be a reality TV star... I think he doesn't know the issues. He's operating out of anger." Similarly, Nithya Raman has attempted to undermine Pratt’s credibility, labeling him an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and claiming he offers no realistic solutions to the city’s problems.

Pratt has pushed back against these attacks. In a recent interview, he responded to concerns about his lack of political experience by asserting, "I may not have the experience, but I have the common sense to say this is not working." Pratt first captured public attention in 2007 when he joined the cast of The Hills, a spin-off of MTV’s Laguna Beach, as the boyfriend of cast member Heidi Montag.

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-02 10:33:06 UTC