Mayor Karen Bass initially faced low public momentum in the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral contest, with persistently low job-approval numbers tied to slow handling of the Palisades Fire. Several major potential challengers declined to run, making a second term seem likely. Two new candidacies changed the dynamics: Spencer Pratt announced a run in January at a rally focused on rebuilding delays, and Nithya Raman entered the race a month later despite being a progressive ally of Bass. Polling now shows a three-way race, with Bass at 26%, Raman at 25%, and Pratt at 22% among likely voters, indicating both challengers gaining strength. Pratt’s campaign has also gained national attention through social media and a populist outsider message centered on city mismanagement.
"Mayor Karen Bass has had persistently low job-approval numbers, dating back to her shaky handling of the Palisades Fire early last year. But several potential big-dog rivals (including her wealthy 2022 opponent, mall developer Rick Caruso) gave the race a pass. It seemed L.A. would give the incumbent a second term, as it's done many times in the past."
"In January, exactly one year after his Pacific Palisades home burned down, reality TV star Spencer Pratt announced a mayoral run during a "They Let Us Burn" rally, in which protesters expressed frustration at the slow pace of rebuilding in the afflicted area. A month later, L.A. councilmember Nithya Raman, a progressive ally of the mayor's, surprised observers by jumping into the race."
"Now, with voting due to conclude on June 2 (all registered voters have been sent mail ballots, but some may elect to turn them in at drop boxes or Election Day polling centers), polls have increasingly confirmed that this is a three-way race, with two tickets to the November election up for grabs. The latest, from UC Berkeley-L.A. Times, shows Bass with 26 percent, Raman with 25 percent, and Pratt with 22 percent among likely voters."
"It's Pratt whose campaign appears to have gone viral nationally as well as locally. A notorious heel on the 2000s reality show The Hills with a big social-media following, Pratt embodied Palisades Fire victimhood (he is still more or less living in an Airstream trailer on his burned-out lot). But his campaign has quickly morphed into a populist-outsider attack on the city's problems and their mismanagement by the powers that be."
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