Could Reality TV “Villain” Spencer Pratt Actually Be L.A.’s Next Mayor?

He visits the dirt lot of his burned home almost every day to recapture his family’s memories. But this man isn’t just anybody. He’s former reality TV star, Spencer Pratt. And he’s trading in his former villain edit for the hero arc that L.A. County desperately needs.

Recently, my friend shared a video with me with the line, “You’re not going to believe this.” And he was right, I didn’t. Spencer Pratt for L.A. County mayor? The Spencer Pratt who grew to fame from the popular Laguna Beach spinoff, The Hills? The Spencer Pratt who became the ire of women everywhere after he committed the unforgivable sin of splitting TV best friends, Heidi Montag and Lauren Conrad? Yeah, that one. The more I dug into it, the more I realized it wasn’t a reality TV stunt at all. It was a legitimate, heartfelt campaign. A plea from a local L.A. guy to save his hometown from what he exposes as cruel mismanagement from its top leaders. And he has the burnt lot receipts to prove it. 

The question on everyone’s mind is, can former TV star Spencer Pratt actually win…and win as a registered Republican? Maybe. Maybe not. But the more interesting question is, in a deep-blue city like Los Angeles, why is this race even competitive to begin with? Right now, Spencer Pratt is polling second behind current L.A. mayor, Karen Bass. Pratt is showing up and cutting through in ways that make him hard to dismiss. And maybe some of that has to do with how he has evolved, but I believe most of it has to do with how politics have evolved.

As Goes California, So Goes the Nation

Living in Los Angeles was once the envy of every American. It was the crown jewel of California. A town that symbolized prosperity, prestige and possibility. Now, that sheen has been soiled…literally. Today, Los Angeles represents fires, fentanyl and failure. A city in decline. Even its greatest cash crop, Hollywood, struggles to stay relevant and afloat. 

Frustrations mount, fueled by the flames of the out-of-control wildfires, homeless encampments and cost of living. It’s been just over a year since L.A. residents saw their communities burn to the ground in the multiple fires of 2025. Fires aren’t new to L.A., but being forced to watch the Palisades torch for 31 days straight, that was unforgivable. It's on record as the second most destructive fire in the state’s history. 

And as if dodging fires wasn’t enough to worry about, residents are also increasingly unable to walk the streets of their own towns due to growing homeless encampments and what many in the town call ‘fentanyl zombies.’ The drug has flooded Los Angeles. And its use grows rapidly among its homeless, which is all being witnessed in the public square.

To top it off, California comes in as one of America’s three most expensive states to live in. It’s no wonder that the state, for multiple years in a row, has seen more people move away to find better opportunity. Even a new UC Berkeley study found that when people of limited means moved out of California, they were able to dramatically improve their financial conditions, including buying a home.

You put all these things together and it’s no wonder that Angelenos are fed up. This is the political and emotional climate that Pratt has entered.

Pratt Enters the Chat 

Spencer Pratt announced his bid to run for L.A. mayor at a “They Let Us Burn” protest on the first anniversary of losing his home to the Palisades fire. It’s unmistakable what he’s running on. Channeling the collective discontent of his fellow L.A. residents, he minces no words: “Never forget what the commies took from you.” He doesn’t shy away from exposing hard truths, even on taboo topics like how the homeless abuse animals. Other times, he lets the evocative imagery do the talking for him. 

He’s focused his political platform on wildfire safety, government accountability and improving the out-of-control homeless encampments. Much like his former Palisades house, he describes a world that no longer exists; an L.A. he fondly remembers that is a shell of itself. But Pratt believes the city is not worth giving up on, “I don’t want to have to move to Texas, and when/if I do have to move to Texas, I want to be on my porch and tell my grandkids, I fought for my city.” Pratt’s love for L.A. is undeniable as evidenced in his Easter Substack, “God Blessed the City of Angels – We Must Redeem Her.” 

His sincerity bleeds through his message: blunt, grievance-driven and emotionally direct. He shows up at fire departments to meet with first responders, he’s making the media rounds on local and national news. He’s getting his message out and it's resonating. He’s even polling in the double digits, second only to the current mayor, Karen Bass.

But is all this enough to win?

Attention-Rich, Cash-Poor

I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Pratt has a lot of hurdles. The fact that Spencer Pratt is even within striking distance is remarkable.

But from what I’ve seen in politics, the candidate with the most cash and the largest network almost always wins. 

Take Pratt’s top opponent, current L.A. County mayor, Karen Bass. Last election was the costliest L.A.’s ever seen; Bass spent roughly $9 million to win. Her opponent spent even more and even flipped his party, becoming a Democrat, just to competitively run against her…and he still lost.  That’s the kind of environment Pratt is up against. Bass has the money, the institutional power, the sympathy of legacy media. She owns the old-school way of winning in politics. 

But in this digital-first attention economy, I wouldn’t rule Pratt out just yet. He does something Bass doesn’t do: he acknowledges reality. It’s hard to ignore the irony that a former reality TV star built on scripted outrage is now gaining ground by being less performative than the politicians he’s running against, and more authentically angry about the city’s dysfunction.

The Redemption Arc

Pratt has certain aspects that make him perfectly poised to succeed in this race. He has name ID; people know him from reality TV, but also from speaking out about the fires. Name ID is vital in politics. Also, Pratt—and I can’t stress this enough—has impeccable media instincts. He doesn’t play the mainstream media’s game. He doesn’t accept their premise. In fact, he laughs at it and reframes it. 

That’s going to matter more the further he gets in this race, because once the liberally biased media in L.A. start to view him as a real contender, their claws will come out. We’ve already seen it, as the L.A. Times has tried to disqualify him from the race by falsely accusing him of not being a valid L.A. County resident to run for office. In the U.S., Democrats have a built-in legacy media advantage; that’s just the way it is. But they’re losing their gatekeeping power. 

On top of that, Pratt is fluent in digital media. He’s running a true grassroots campaign, direct-to-audience that harnesses anti-establishment sentiment. And he’s getting the attention of heavy new media hitters like Joe Rogan. 

But let's get back to the question: is all this enough to rival institutional credibility, especially in Los Angeles? The winds are moving; we can see it. People want the unfettered truth, emotional clarity and change, not performative politics. Spencer Pratt is a bellwether, a symbol of more to come, where candidates drop the script and start getting real. 

But if I had to guess, I don’t think those winds are moving fast enough to counteract the amount of money and infrastructure his opponent, Karen Bass, has. It’s hard to go against millions of dollars and thousands of people willing to knock on doors for you to win.

So the honest answer I'll give you is maybe. But the fact that it’s even a real question in a city like Los Angeles says more about the state of politics than it does about him. It's about what voters are done tolerating, and what they're starting to demand instead.

Recently, The Hollywood Reporter asked Pratt if he sees himself as an “activist.” He had a simpler answer: he preferred to be known as a “taxpayer.” In another race, that might be a throwaway line. But in this one, it sounds like the entire strategy, and a reminder that the gap between politics and culture may be smaller than anyone wants to admit.