Nithya Raman knocked Spencer Pratt out of the Los Angeles mayoral runoff on Monday, June 8, 2026, when the Associated Press called the primary race in Los Angeles and put the city council member into a November matchup with Mayor Karen Bass.
Pratt, the former The Hills personality, had turned the Palisades Fire and the city's emergency response into the core of his campaign after his home burned down one year before he announced his run.
Highlights
- Nithya Raman advanced to the November runoff against Mayor Karen Bass after overtaking Spencer Pratt.
- Pratt launched his campaign exactly one year after his Pacific Palisades home burned down in the Palisades Fire.
- Supporters boosted Pratt online with AI ads, including a viral Batman-themed video that topped 5 million views on X.
- Raman now holds 28.55% of the vote, while Pratt has 25.83%.
- President Trump claimed Pratt’s loss was “not possible,” but California election officials have rejected fraud claims tied to late ballots.
Karen Bass led on primary night, while Raman moved from third to second during the vote count, leaving Pratt's celebrity-driven, AI-boosted campaign short of the runoff.
Late ballot count turned Pratt's viral campaign into Raman's runoff with Bass
Image credits: Getty Images
The Associated Press determined Monday that Pratt did not qualify for the November runoff. Raman will now face Bass, the incumbent mayor, after a vote count that shifted the order of the race after primary night.
On June 2, early results put Bass in front, Pratt in second, and Raman in third. Over the next week, Raman steadily gained ground. She first took a narrow lead Sunday night, then widened it enough for AP to call the contest. Raman now holds 28.55% of the vote, while Pratt has 25.83%.
Pratt had pointed to the unfinished count as the gap tightened. In a post cited by NBC Los Angeles, he wrote, “Folks, we’re dealing with a fraction of a percentage point difference, there’s still hundreds of thousands of votes outstanding, and LA officials have given us the next 3 weeks to count! Let’s git-r-dun!”
He also posted, “Me trying to figure out how votes get counted in LA,” according to Variety.
Image credits: Getty Images
President Trump later weighed in on Truth Social, saying it was “not possible” for Pratt to have lost his big lead and calling the situation a “3rd World Nation” with “Rigged Elections.” California election officials have rejected claims that late-arriving ballots show fraud.
The Palisades Fire gave Pratt’s campaign its emotional center. On January 7, 2025, the Pacific Palisades home he shared with his wife, Heidi Montag, and their two children burned to the ground. The blaze destroyed more than 6,800 structures. Exactly one year later, on January 7, 2026, Pratt announced his run for mayor and hammered Bass over what he called a failed emergency response.
The campaign quickly became more than a local curiosity. Pratt’s celebrity profile, anger over the fire response, and willingness to challenge liberal governance in a heavily Democratic city drew national attention. Supporters also created AI ads that spread widely online. One video showed Pratt as Batman fighting crime in a Gotham-style Los Angeles, with Bass depicted as the Joker in white face paint. It drew more than 5 million views on X.
Pratt’s wildfire message caught national attention, but could not carry him to November
Image credits: City of Los Angeles / Wikimedia Commons
Bass’s team turned immediately toward Raman after AP called the race. In a statement reported by ABC7, campaign strategist Douglas Herman said, “A campaign against Nithya Raman, who allows encampments near schools and cuts the police force, is one Mayor Bass looks forward to winning.”
Pratt still found real support among voters frustrated with City Hall. Dennis Kamrany, a Pacific Palisades resident, told ABC News: “I’d rather have someone that’s a fighter, that has energy, that’s young, that is talking about common sense policies. What the hell do we have to lose?”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton framed the race in outsider terms, saying, “We’ve got a failed and broken system, and you’ve got a couple of outsiders who’ve never run for office before.”
Image credits: Nithya Raman / Wikimedia Commons
The November runoff sets up a contest with real stakes for the nation’s second-largest city. Bass, the incumbent, will have to defend her record on homelessness, public safety, and the wildfire response that animated so much of this primary.
Raman, a progressive city council member, will push to make the case that LA needs a sharper break from the status quo – not a celebrity outsider, but a different kind of insider. Pratt’s run injected chaos and energy into the race, but come November, voters will be choosing between two very different visions of how to fix a city still picking up the pieces.