Reality TV star Spencer Pratt, a Republican, dominated Wednesday’s Los Angeles mayoral debate.
So said poll respondents on KNBC in Los Angeles. And so too, effectively, said the Los Angeles Times.
Meanwhile, conservatives on the social media platform X applauded Pratt’s answers to questions on public safety in the city.
All in all, Pratt at least raised eyebrows over the prospect that a Republican could win in Los Angeles.
“Downtown is so unsafe now that they have to serve the food — all the employees have to eat inside,” Pratt said in a clip posted to X. “They can’t risk going out. That’s why all these beautiful restaurants are closing — ’cause it’s so unsafe.”
Then, in the same clip, the Republican blasted one of his two debate opponents, Socialist councilwoman Nithya Raman. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass also participated in the debate.
“Councilwoman Raman is talking about safety,” Pratt said moments later. “Yet, when animal rescue activist Rebecca Corry came in and said that dogs are being tortured and abused on the streets of downtown, she walked out of the hearing. She doesn’t care about safety. She doesn’t care about anything she’s talking about. At least Mayor Bass pretends to care.”
🚨 Spencer Pratt on Socialist candidate Nithya Raman: “She doesn’t care about safety. She doesn’t care about anything she’s talking about. At least Mayor Bass PRETENDS to care.” pic.twitter.com/cxVmyvtAU9
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 7, 2026
Then, in another clip, Pratt mocked Raman’s plan to provide “treatment” to the homeless.
“I will go below the Harbor Freeway with her tomorrow, and we can find some of these people she’s gonna offer treatment for. She’s gonna get stabbed in the neck. These people do not want a bed. They want fentanyl or super meth.”
Spencer Pratt dares Nithya Raman to try to go offer beds to the homeless: “She’d get kiIIed”
Make this man the next mayor of LA pic.twitter.com/NANT4wqJkm
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 7, 2026
In a third clip, Pratt pledged to hire enough police officers to get the city to the 12,500 number it needs, to restore the hiring of police to the police themselves, and to pay for it in part by cutting programs for homeless drug addicts, like what Raman supports.
🚨 WATCH: Spencer Pratt just TORCHED Councilwoman Nithya Raman for her saying LA’s police department is overfunded.
This guy gets it. pic.twitter.com/FObBAzHcCF
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) May 7, 2026
Based on statistical and anecdotal evidence, Pratt’s performance resonated with viewers.
In a KNBC-TV poll, for instance, as of Thursday afternoon 89 percent of respondents had declared him the debate winner. Bass earned seven percent support, with Raman garnering the remaining four percent.
Likewise, the Times — generally no friend to Republicans — concluded that Pratt “came off as a boisterous bro with enough charm to call himself ‘humble’ without coming off as obnoxious,” and that he “dominated the flow of conversation without coming off as commandeering.”
Conversely, according to the Times, of the three debaters, only Raman “failed,” becoming “tongue-tied trying to answer simple questions.”
“Answering a yes/no question about whether noncitizens should be allowed to vote in city elections, [Raman] went on and on, until the moderator cut her off,” the outlet reported.
Bass, of course, spent several weeks in the national spotlight during the January 2025 wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles. The mayor received largely unfavorable reviews for her performance during that crisis. The Times even referred to her “disastrous 2025.”
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