Spencer Pratt Talks Vanity Fair About His Mayoral Campaign and Life After The Hills

Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman entered the mayor’s race with strong progressive momentum, drawing comparisons to New York’s Zohran Mamdani and benefiting from past endorsements from the Democratic Socialists of America. But her campaign has struggled to broaden its appeal beyond the city’s left flank. A mixed debate performance and a recent appearance with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker failed to significantly strengthen her position. As a result, Raman has not yet unified progressive voters in the way many expected.

Meanwhile, contender Pratt has gained traction by tapping into widespread frustration with City Hall and the sense that Los Angeles is badly managed. His support is strongest on the Westside and in the Hollywood Hills, where many residents historically feel detached from city government. But the devastating fires in the Palisades and nearby neighborhoods changed that dynamic. For many affluent residents, the disasters made government failure feel immediate and personal. Lawsuits filed by fire victims against city and state officials have reinforced claims that public institutions failed to respond effectively.

Pratt has also benefited from a broader atmosphere of anxiety about homelessness and crime spreading into wealthy neighborhoods. He has turned these concerns into an insurgent political message centered on decline, disorder, and bureaucratic incompetence. Through a steady stream of social media posts and AI-generated videos, Pratt has portrayed Los Angeles as chaotic and out of control. His online messaging repeatedly targets Mayor Karen Bass, Democratic Socialists, bureaucrats, nonprofit service providers, and people he describes as “fentanyl zombies.”

That digital strategy has helped drive a major fundraising boost. Campaign filings released this month showed Pratt raising about $2.7 million between April 19 and May 16, nearly ten times the amount raised by Bass in the same period. His allies also circulate AI-generated videos that Pratt reposts to large audiences, giving him what opponents say amounts to free advertising. While most campaigns pay heavily for traditional television advertising, Pratt’s online ecosystem has allowed supporters to generate viral content at little cost, amplifying his message across social media.

The race has become a contest not only over policy, but over who can best channel public anger. Raman has struggled to turn progressive enthusiasm into a broader coalition, while Pratt has positioned himself as the candidate of disruption and resentment toward the political establishment. His campaign has found particular success among voters who believe the city’s institutions failed them during crisis and continue to fail them in daily life. As a result, the campaign reflects a larger battle over Los Angeles’s future: whether the city will move toward progressive reform or toward a populist backlash against government itself.