National Republicans Take Note as Los Angeles Mayoral Candidate Spencer Pratt Insists on Running a ‘Localized’ Campaign

Despite his insistence on running what he calls a “localized” campaign for Los Angeles mayor, national Republicans impressed by the performance of former reality star and Palisades Fire victim, Spencer Pratt, are taking note as he competes against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and others ahead of the June 2 open primary. Mr. Pratt is likely to make it to the general election this November after spending months traversing his hometown to point out ongoing problems with crime, homelessness, and government inefficiency. He is generating enthusiasm with his quirky Hollywood-slick ads and a strong debate performance last week.Mr. Pratt launched his campaign for mayor earlier this year, promising to serve not as an ideological executive in America’s second-largest city, but as a practical, good-government watchdog. He says politicians like Ms. Bass and City Councilwoman Nithya Raman can’t be trusted to focus on basic quality of life issues for Angelenos. “I don’t do the politician talk,” Mr. Pratt told CBS News on Saturday. “As mayor, I’m going to enforce the laws that exist to make moms and kids feel safe in front of their schools, on their sidewalks, in front of parks, in front of daycares. So, that message resonates.”During the debate with Ms. Bass and Ms. Raman last week, Mr. Pratt pitched himself as the only sensible person in the race who can tackle the homelessness crisis. Los Angeles has one of the largest homeless populations in the country despite the city, county, and state spending hundreds of millions of dollars to shelter individuals living on the streets. Mr. Pratt says that Ms. Bass has failed during her first term to decrease the number of homeless people on the street. According to the mayor’s office, fewer than 1,500 people have been moved into permanent housing as part of her Inside Safe anti-homelessness program despite the program costing more than $300 million so far. Ms. Raman, who advocates for funding street medical teams to help deal with drug addiction issues, criticized Ms. Bass’s program, though Mr. Pratt says Ms. Raman’s proposals aren’t workable, either. “Councilwoman Raman’s plan for ‘Treatment First’ — I will go below the Harbor Freeway tomorrow with her and we can find some of these people she’s gonna offer treatment [to]. She’s gonna get stabbed in the neck,” Mr. Pratt said. Following Mr. Pratt’s debate performance, Ms. Bass announced her decision to skip this week’s League of Women Voters forum despite allegedly being the one to set the date. Ms. Raman is still slated to appear alongside other candidates who are far behind in the polls. Mr. Pratt is not going to attend, although unlike Ms. Bass, he never agreed to show up in the first place. Ms. Bass’s campaign told Fox11 LA that she was focused on other issues that day in Sacramento, including funding for homelessness and the World Cup. Mr. Pratt’s pugilistic style and salty political ads — reminiscent of the character he portrayed 20 years ago on the Hollywood reality TV show, The Hills — has caught the attention of top Republican politicians, right-wing influencers, and conservative commentators. Senator Ted Cruz on Saturday reposted an AI-generated ad portraying Ms. Bass, Governor Gavin Newsom, and Vice President Kamala Harris as aristocratic rulers unwilling to deal with homelessness and refusing to let homeowners rebuild their homes following the Palisades Fire. “LA is worth saving. Vote Spencer Pratt,” wrote the ad’s maker, Charles Curran, in the message reposted by Mr. Cruz. “@SpencerPratt cares deeply about his community. I’m glad he made the decision to run,” Senator Rick Scott wrote on X earlier this year. Messrs. Pratt and Scott previously worked together to highlight the plight of aging homeowners who were not able to rebuild their homes following the fires. Some of the nation’s most prominent commentators are also backing Mr. Pratt, though few of them live in California. Comedian and conservative podcaster Adam Carolla endorsed Mr. Pratt after getting a tour of the candidate’s mobile home, which he has been living in for months as he’s been unable to rebuild his home. Podcaster Megyn Kelly called Mr. Pratt a “star” following his debate performance on Friday. “He’s talking frankly to Angelenos,” Mr. Kelly told her listeners. “The other two were caught flat-footed and looked embarrassed, frankly, that they didn’t come to play.”A Los Angeles native, Mr. Pratt compared his rise to that of President Obama, who was a “community advocate” with no political experience before running for office. He told CBS News in another interview that even though he is running as a Republican in a deep blue city, he is confident he will attract voters of all stripes. “What people are confused on, the Democrats all are behind me,” he said. “My message isn’t political. It’s common sense. So I have Democrats love me. Republicans love me. Independents love me. Libertarians love me. Constitutionalists love me. It’s just socialists and communists.”

National Republicans Take Note as Los Angeles Mayoral Candidate Spencer Pratt Insists on Running a ‘Localized’ Campaign

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