But if the influence of Pratt and his voters ultimately forces policy reforms in law enforcement, homelessness, housing, permitting, wildfire prevention and other areas, that would count as a big win for the city.
A former reality television star with a penchant for inflammatory social media antics is drawing headlines and building momentum in the homestretch of a political campaign. No, not that guy.
Rather, it’s Spencer Pratt, the villain from MTV’s mid-aughts show “The Hills,” who has emerged as an unlikely player in the Los Angeles mayoral race. Eye-catching social media videos, created by Pratt’s campaign and online supporters, have gone viral for their slick uses of artificial intelligence and depictions of California progressives as out-of-touch, heartless elites. Pratt, a registered Republican running as an independent, seems to have struck a chord with frustrated voters by relentlessly attacking the record of embattled Democratic Mayor Karen Bass on crime, homelessness and the city’s bungled handling of recovery efforts from the 2025 Palisades wildfire.
And Pratt has proved to be more than just a social media darling. He turned heads during last week’s mayoral debate, where he outmaneuvered Bass and Democratic council member Nithya Raman while portraying a city beset by drug users, squatters and violent crime. A nonscientific, postdebate online poll from NBC Los Angeles showed 90 percent of viewers declaring Pratt the winner.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
No one saw ‘Spencer Pratt for mayor’ coming
Tim Anaya
But if the influence of Pratt and his voters ultimately forces policy reforms in law enforcement, homelessness, housing, permitting, wildfire prevention and other areas, that would count as a big win for the city.
A former reality television star with a penchant for inflammatory social media antics is drawing headlines and building momentum in the homestretch of a political campaign. No, not that guy.
Rather, it’s Spencer Pratt, the villain from MTV’s mid-aughts show “The Hills,” who has emerged as an unlikely player in the Los Angeles mayoral race. Eye-catching social media videos, created by Pratt’s campaign and online supporters, have gone viral for their slick uses of artificial intelligence and depictions of California progressives as out-of-touch, heartless elites. Pratt, a registered Republican running as an independent, seems to have struck a chord with frustrated voters by relentlessly attacking the record of embattled Democratic Mayor Karen Bass on crime, homelessness and the city’s bungled handling of recovery efforts from the 2025 Palisades wildfire.
And Pratt has proved to be more than just a social media darling. He turned heads during last week’s mayoral debate, where he outmaneuvered Bass and Democratic council member Nithya Raman while portraying a city beset by drug users, squatters and violent crime. A nonscientific, postdebate online poll from NBC Los Angeles showed 90 percent of viewers declaring Pratt the winner.
Read the entire op-ed in Washington Post.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.