Fight for Los Angeles mayor tightens with Bass, Pratt, Raman making final pitch
With less than 24 hours until Los Angeles’ primary, teh race has tightened as voters weigh three main contenders: incumbent Mayor karen Bass, Councilwoman Nithya Raman, and reality star Spencer Pratt.
Bass, a Democrat, spent the weekend campaigning across neighborhoods with union and high-profile political support, including Gov. Gavin newsom, U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, and former Vice President Kamala Harris. She argued her record offers a “proven” choice, while a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies / *Los Angeles Times* poll suggests Bass holds only a narrow edge among likely voters-26% to Raman’s 25% and Pratt’s 22%, within the poll’s 3% margin of error.
Raman emphasized a grassroots, neighborhood-focused message, meeting voters and small-buisness owners downtown and in other areas while criticizing City Hall’s handling of homelessness, public safety, and quality-of-life issues. She also faced backlash after a debate claim that Bass and Pratt were working together to push her out, which prompted a sharp response from Pratt.
Pratt, an outsider with no public-office experience, rallied supporters after a visit to New York where he spoke with national media outlets. At community events he leaned into voter frustration with “failed leadership,” drawing a celebrity-like reception and emphasizing “common sense” despite attacks from critics.
Under California’s top-two primary system, the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party-meaning the outcome is highly dependent on turnout as all three candidates remain within striking distance of a runoff.
LOS ANGELES — With less than 24 hours to go before Tuesday’s primary, the top three leading Los Angeles mayoral candidates spent the weekend fanning out across neighborhoods to make their final pitches to voters still weighing their options.
Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, who is polling ahead of the other candidates, packed her schedule with campaign stops, appearing alongside union workers and California Attorney General Rob Bonta to energize voters and highlight endorsements in the race’s closing stretch. The incumbent’s blitz also included stops in Eagle Rock and Van Nuys, underscoring her effort to leverage labor support and her governing record as she seeks another term.
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“We’ve laid a great foundation over three years, and now we need to bring it home,” she said Sunday.
Bass secured a late endorsement from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who is term-limited, but he has not campaigned alongside her. She’s also picked up endorsements from both of California’s U.S. senators, Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris.
There are 14 candidates on the ballot, though only five are viewed as serious contenders. Of those, Councilwoman Nithya Raman and reality star Spencer Pratt are Bass’s biggest threats.
Under California’s top-two primary system, the two highest vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote.
Bass dismissed her main rivals in the still wide-open race, saying she was the “clear choice.”
“We want somebody that has proven and delivered versus somebody who has a lot of theory and wonderful ideas,” she said. “The city needs to have the job done … and then there is a guy that functions in fantasy world.”
The latest polling points to a tight contest with Bass holding a narrow edge over Raman and Pratt.
Bass had 26% support among likely voters, compared with 25% for Raman and 22% for Pratt, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies/Los Angeles Times poll released Thursday. Bass’s lead falls within the survey’s 3% margin of error.
For months, the mayor appeared firmly in control of the race, with analysts largely assuming she would cruise into the Nov. 3 runoff against either Raman or Pratt. The latest polling of 1,913 registered voters suggests the contest has tightened considerably, leaving all three candidates within striking distance of a runoff. The poll, conducted between May 19 and May 24, is the largest sample of any public poll released ahead of the primary election.
“You’ve got three very different candidates, each with very different constituencies, all within the margin of error,” Mark DiCamillo, the director of Berkeley IGS polls, said. “It’s going to boil down to turnout.”
Raman spent her weekend meeting voters and small-business owners in Sonoratown, a neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles, Echo Park, and Studio City, emphasizing her grassroots campaign and neighborhood-focused message. Raman’s campaign has sought to contrast her hands-on approach with frustration over City Hall’s handling of homelessness, public safety, and quality-of-life concerns.
“What I’m hearing from people is that they’re hungry for change, they’re hungry for a different vision of Los Angeles, for a more hopeful vision, one that’s addressing the issues that are at the top of their concerns,” she said.
On Sunday, she greeted bike riders at a Sawtelle coffee shop and spoke to a phone bank group at UCLA.
“It is absolutely essential to making sure that our little campaign, without all the political machine behind us, without MAGA millions behind us, that our vision of Los Angeles still manages to get out to the people, and your work today is an essential part of that,” she told a group of graduate students.
Raman came under fire after suggesting during a televised debate that Bass and Pratt were teaming up to push her out of the primary. The accusation prompted a stinging rebuke from Pratt.
“First off, Mayor Bass and I are definitely not working together,” he said. “I blame [Bass] for burning my house and my parents’ house and my town and my neighbors down. I am not working with Mayor Bass.
“Second off, if I wanna run against anybody, it would be the councilmember who is terrible. Mayor Bass has at least been a mayor for almost four years and has, as she talked about earlier, the unions, all the unions endorse Mayor Bass. Do you think it’s easier to run against the incumbent mayor with all the unions or a random city councilmember who’s been a failure for 6 years? I would much rather run against Councilwoman Raman.”
Pratt also made the rounds this weekend. Fresh off a trip to New York City, where he sat down with national media outlets, the reality star was treated like a celebrity at a community event in northeast Los Angeles.
Dressed in a gray suit, blue shirt, and a black “Pratt for Los Angeles” ball cap, he spent Sunday afternoon weaving through a crowd of supporters, posing for photos, and hearing complaints about the direction of Los Angeles ahead of Election Day.
Addressing attendees, Pratt said he could feel the “hope and inspiration” of voters and argued that “common sense” motivates him despite what he described as attacks from critics.
Despite having no government experience, he has gained traction by positioning himself as an outsider railing against what he calls “failed leadership” and capitalizing on voter frustration with City Hall.
PRATT RALLIES SUPPORTERS AS LOS ANGELES MAYORAL RACE ENTERS FINAL STRETCH
His approach has resonated with voters like Marie Palmer, who attended the block party wearing a custom blue “Pratt for Los Angeles” T-shirt. She told the Washington Examiner she’s tired of watching the city decline.
“It’s sad to see what it’s turned into,” she said. “And the people that are running it right now don’t care about LA. If they did, it wouldn’t be the way it is, and I believe that this man, Spencer Pratt, will make a difference in LA. He’ll change it.”
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