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Spencer Pratt’s surprise political rise just hit a brutal setback.
The former ‘Hills’ star had looked positioned to move into a November runoff against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. Then a fresh ballot update changed the race.
Progressive city council member Nithya Raman moved ahead of Pratt and was projected to advance instead. Raman had 28.5% of the vote after the latest count, while Pratt had 25.8%.
For Pratt, it was a stunning reversal. For Trump and several conservative voices, it became another fight over California’s vote-counting process.
Pratt Lost His Early Lead
Pratt spent much of election week ahead of Raman. Then mail ballots continued to be counted, and the race shifted.
Before the update, Pratt tried to calm supporters.
“Remember everyone…we are still in the lead, and we’ve got allllllll the way til July 6th to keep counting,” he wrote.
Then he questioned the size of the swing. “A net swing of more than 43,000 votes since Tuesday.. 43,000, huh?” Pratt wrote, before pointing to a report that said 43,699 people experience homelessness in Los Angeles. “Where have I seen that number before…? Probably nothing.”
Raman welcomed the update. “We are encouraged by the latest vote count and remain grateful to the thousands of Angelenos who have powered this campaign,” she said.
Trump Turned The Race Into A Warning
Trump quickly jumped into the fight on Truth Social.
“Has anybody been watching the CROOKED Election going on in California,” he wrote Sunday night.
He claimed “two great Republican Candidates are being cheated” and warned followers to “Watch this ‘Election’ closely!!!”
Trump also complained about California’s slow vote count earlier in the week. “Watch California, everybody!” he posted Thursday. “Our Election process is as bad, or worse, than any Third World Country.”
During a Friday speech in Wisconsin, Trump went further. “Can you imagine, it’s four days, and they still aren’t even close to telling you who won,” he said. “You know why? Because they’re rigging the election, that’s why.”
Election officials have not confirmed Trump’s claims. California’s counting process often takes time because the state has millions of registered voters and a heavy reliance on mail ballots.
Conservative Media Rallied Behind Pratt
Several conservative figures also questioned Raman’s late surge.
Clay Travis wrote, “Spencer Pratt falls to third place and a woman who hardly anyone voted for in person, Nithya Raman, totally dominated in mail voting. No one with a functional brain believes these results.”
Meghan McCain said people in her life who had never discussed stolen elections were now saying that about California.
Justine Bateman asked, “Wonder who they’ve already decided will be Mayor of Los Angeles.”
James Woods wrote, “I knew to a certainty that statistically impossible cheating would take place AGAIN,” adding, “America is lost.”
The backlash gave Pratt’s campaign a larger conservative echo, even as officials continued processing ballots.
Pratt Built His Campaign On LA Anger
Pratt’s campaign was already unusual.
The reality star entered the race after he and Heidi Montag lost their $3 million home in the 2025 Palisades Fire. He ran on anger over city leadership, homelessness, public safety, emergency response, and rebuilding delays. He promised to hire more LAPD officers, improve disaster response, and speed up permits for fire victims.
That outsider message helped him gain attention. The ballot shift turned him into a new conservative grievance story.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office was monitoring the process and “stands ready to protect voters and ensure California’s election laws are followed.”
Governor Gavin Newsom’s office pushed back on Republican criticism with a blunt question: “Why do Republicans hate that California counts every vote?”
For now, Bass and Raman appear headed toward November. Pratt’s political rise may have hit its first hard wall.
Trump, however, has turned the loss into something bigger: another claim that California’s elections are broken.
