Los Angeles City Council member Karen Bass led the mayoral primary election on June 2 with about 35% of the vote but did not reach the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff [1, 2, 3]. Former reality TV star and registered Republican Spencer Pratt finished second with roughly 30%, ensuring a spot in the November runoff against Bass [1, 2, 3, 4].
Democrat Nithya Raman, also a Los Angeles City Council member and former ally of Bass, came third with approximately 22–23% of the vote and failed to advance [1, 2, 3, 4]. While the elections are officially nonpartisan, Bass and Raman are Democrats and Pratt is a Republican [1, 5, 4].
Bass’s tenure has faced criticism, especially after the January 2025 wildfires that killed at least 31 people. The mayor's absence overseas during the fires drew public anger [1, 4]. Pratt has campaigned aggressively against Bass, targeting her handling of homelessness, wildfire responses, and crime in the city [1, 4]. Pratt said, "Obviously, God wanted five more months of me exposing the failures of our mayor" and claimed Bass went from leading polling to plummeting support, asserting, "She got bombed, she's done" [5, 4].
Republican Rep. Darrell Issa noted Pratt’s appeal among Democrat voters disillusioned with Bass, saying, "He's catching fire among ardent historic Democrat voters because Karen Bass has been so ineffective" [4].
There was some uncertainty on election night whether Pratt or Raman would advance, but later tallies confirmed Pratt's lead [1, 3, 2, 4]. The runoff election is scheduled for November, where voters will choose between Bass and Pratt to lead Los Angeles.
