Spencer Pratt’s months-long campaign to challenge incumbent Karen Bass in the Los Angeles mayoral race appeared to fall short of an outright win on Tuesday, June 2, as early election results showed Bass in first place and Pratt in second. With nearly 50% of the vote counted, Bass held about 37% while Pratt followed with roughly 30%. Councilwoman Nithya Raman was in third place with 20.5%.
Because no candidate is expected to reach the 50% threshold needed to win the mayor’s office in the primary, the current results suggest that the race will advance to a November general election between the top two candidates. Under that scenario, Bass and Pratt would continue on to a runoff if the results remain unchanged. For Pratt, that means he would still remain in the contest rather than being eliminated in the first round.
The early count reflects a familiar pattern in Los Angeles elections, where initial results can shift as more ballots are processed. In the 2022 mayoral race, Rick Caruso led on election night before Karen Bass overtook him after days of additional counting. That history leaves room for the final standings to evolve as more votes are tallied.
At an election night event in Koreatown, Bass told supporters that the early outcome was “looking good so far” and framed the race as entering its next phase. She said, “Tomorrow begins the second half of this journey,” and added that the city could have “the city we know we all deserves.” Pratt had not commented publicly on the election as of the report.
If the current numbers hold, Bass would continue as the frontrunner, but not by enough to avoid a November faceoff. Pratt’s performance, meanwhile, keeps his long-shot bid alive and positions him for a possible runoff campaign against the incumbent mayor.
The race remains dependent on additional vote counting, and the final result could change as more ballots are included. For now, the early tally places Karen Bass in the lead, Spencer Pratt second, and Nithya Raman third, with the mayoral contest still unresolved.
