Nithya Raman Overtakes Spencer Pratt in LA Mayoral Race

Progressive Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman has surged past reality TV star Spencer Pratt to claim second place in the city’s mayoral primary, with 83% of votes counted as of June 7. Incumbent Mayor Karen Bass has already secured her spot in the November runoff with 34.7% of the vote, according to ABC News.

Raman currently holds 27.1% of the vote to Pratt’s 26.7%, a razor-thin margin of approximately 3,100 votes. The outcome will determine who faces Bass in the November 3 general election in the nation’s second-largest city.

How the Race Shifted

Initial returns on primary night showed Pratt in second place, but as mail-in and provisional ballots have been counted over the past week, Raman has steadily gained ground. Late-counted mail ballots in California typically trend Democratic, a factor that has worked in Raman’s favor.

The BBC News reported that the race remains fluid, with approximately 17% of ballots still uncounted. California’s nonpartisan “jungle primary” system sends the top two vote-getters to a November runoff regardless of party affiliation, meaning the general election could pit two Democrats — Bass and Raman — against each other, or match the Democratic incumbent against a Republican reality TV star.

The Candidates

Nithya Raman

Raman, 44, is a Harvard- and MIT-educated urban planner who made history in 2020 as the first Asian American woman and first South Asian to serve on the Los Angeles City Council. She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and has built a reputation as a progressive voice on housing and homelessness. Her campaign has focused on expanding affordable housing, reducing homelessness, and bringing jobs back to Hollywood. She has criticized Bass’s “Inside Safe” program as fiscally unsustainable and authored a 2025 rent cap increase — the first strengthening of rent stabilization in the city in 40 years, according to her Wikipedia biography.

Spencer Pratt

Pratt, 42, rose to fame as a reality TV villain on MTV’s “The Hills” and entered the mayoral race on the one-year anniversary of the January 2025 Palisades Fire, which destroyed his Pacific Palisades home. Running as a registered Republican, he has campaigned on increasing LAPD funding, mandatory drug treatment for homelessness, and cracking down on street takeovers. He has received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump and generated viral attention with AI-generated campaign ads. His Wikipedia entry notes his background as a political science graduate from USC and his history of reality TV appearances.

Karen Bass

Bass, 72, is seeking a second and final term as mayor. A former six-term congresswoman who chaired the Congressional Black Caucus, she has faced criticism over the city’s response to the Palisades Fire and the ongoing homelessness crisis. Her campaign spokesperson, Alex Stack, said in a statement that Bass looks forward to “winning a contest against an opponent who allows encampments near schools and fights against hiring more cops.”

What’s at Stake

The November runoff will determine who leads Los Angeles as it grapples with a homelessness crisis, affordable housing shortage, and preparations for the 2028 Summer Olympics. The outcome will also signal whether progressive or moderate Democratic governance prevails in the city.

A Bass-Raman matchup would test whether the progressive wing or the establishment has greater appeal in a heavily Democratic city. A Bass-Pratt contest would present a stark ideological contrast, testing whether celebrity appeal can overcome partisan disadvantage in a city where nearly 65% of voters supported Kamala Harris in the last presidential election.

The Deadline political analysis noted that the race reflects “deep frustrations across the city” and that each candidate has shored up distinct constituencies — Bass with union support, Raman with creative industry donors, and Pratt with voters hungry for an outsider.

What to Watch For

With tens of thousands of ballots still to be counted, Raman’s narrow lead over Pratt remains precarious. Election officials are expected to release additional tallies in the coming days. The final outcome will shape the dynamics of what promises to be one of the most closely watched municipal elections in the country this year, coinciding with a competitive California gubernatorial primary that has drawn national attention.

As BBC News noted in its profile of the race, Pratt’s candidacy has tapped into deep voter frustration, but his path to victory in a November general election remains uncertain in a city that has not elected a Republican mayor since 2001.