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Insurgent candidate Spencer Pratt has what it takes to become Los Angeles’ next mayor despite the “difficult job” ahead of winning over a heavily Democratic electorate, a senior California lawmaker told Fox News Digital.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt is resonating with voters in the deep-blue city by offering “common-sense” solutions to the dysfunction that has persisted under incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.
Pratt, a former reality television personality best known for “The Hills,” has risen to prominence in the race by calling attention to Bass’ alleged mismanagement of devastating wildfires that destroyed more than 18,000 structures — including his Pacific Palisades home — and the stalled recovery. He has also lit into Bass’ failure to make significant headway on street homelessness, drug addiction and crime.
“He’s catching fire among ardent historic Democrat voters because Karen Bass has been so ineffective,” Issa said in an interview. “And every time she opens her mouth, she’s talking about more of the same to people who have seen their streets, both crime-ridden and in fact … ineffectively managed.”
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“Do I see his common-sense campaigning as resonating? Absolutely,” he continued.
Pratt is vying in a nonpartisan June 2 primary against Bass and socialist City Council member Nithya Raman. No candidate is expected to receive more than 50% of the vote, meaning the top two vote-getters will advance to a November runoff election.
Recent polling shows all three candidates in a dead heat, even as Bass enjoys the support of high-profile Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif.
But Pratt, a registered Republican, faces long odds in a city where fewer than 20% of voters identify with the GOP.
Bass-aligned groups have also run ads criticizing Pratt’s party affiliation despite the political newcomer officially running as an independent.
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Issa, however, said there is precedent for Los Angeles electing a mayor with Republican ties despite its Democratic leanings.
“I will say that Dick Riordan, now deceased, but a Republican who was mayor a generation ago, had that same sort of common sense … and he did resonate. He was elected,” the California Republican said. “He goes down in history as a period in which Los Angeles did improve very much, like New York and Rudy Giuliani.”
Riordan was the last Republican elected mayor of Los Angeles after winning a second term in 1997.
Billionaire developer Rick Caruso, a Republican-turned-Democrat, lost a 2022 mayoral battle against Bass despite spending north of $100 million on his campaign.
In a likely attempt to win over Democratic voters, Pratt has sought to divorce the race from national politics.
“In LA, they want to feel safe, they don’t want to step in human poop,” he told NBC News in an interview Thursday. “I don’t need to have personal opinions about anybody that doesn’t affect them stepping in human poop.”
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Asked by the outlet about President Donald Trump’s vocal support for his campaign, Pratt said he did not need it. Trump has yet to offer a formal endorsement.
“I don’t need anyone’s endorsement but mothers’. That’s who’s getting me elected,” he replied.
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