Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass entered the 2026 reelection race with the advantages of incumbency, support from much of the city’s political establishment and decades of political experience.
But as voters prepare to cast ballots in next week’s primary election, Bass faces a more volatile political environment than many observers initially expected — one shaped by anger following the Palisades fire, ongoing frustrations over homelessness and housing affordability, and the rise of challengers seeking to capitalize on distrust of City Hall.
Among them is Councilmember Nithya Raman, who has positioned herself as a progressive alternative focused on housing affordability and government reform, and former reality television star Spencer Pratt, whose viral online campaign has paired criticism of City Hall leadership with hardline positions on homelessness, policing and city services.
While Bass remains widely viewed as the forerunner, recent polling suggests the race might be tightening heading into the final days before the June 2 primary. A UC Berkeley – L.A. Times poll released Thursday found Bass at 26% among likely voters, followed closely by Raman at 25% and Pratt at 22%, while housing advocate Rae Huang and tech entrepreneur Adam Miller received 9% and 5%, respectively.
The results highlighted how support has splintered across a crowded field that includes nine additional challengers, raising uncertainty over which candidates could ultimately advance to a potential November runoff election.
Bass has largely campaigned on stability, experience and governance, arguing her administration has made measurable progress on some of the city’s most difficult challenges.
Her campaign has pointed to reductions in street homelessness counts, declining crime statistics and rebuilding efforts following the Palisades fire in January 2025 as evidence the city is moving in the right direction. Bass has also defended her Inside Safe homelessness initiative as a necessary effort to reduce encampments and move people indoors, while highlighting increased affordable housing production during her tenure.
The mayor has also consolidated support from much of the Democratic establishment, earning endorsements from figures including former Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Adam Schiff and a majority of the Los Angeles City Council, along with backing from major labor groups and political organizations.
On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom became the latest high-profile Democrat to endorse Bass’ reelection campaign, praising “historic drops in violent crime” and an “18% decline in homelessness.”
But Bass has continued to face criticism over homelessness conditions, affordability pressures and broader frustration with quality-of-life issues across the city. Opponents have also repeatedly attacked her response to the Palisades fire, including scrutiny over her absence from Los Angeles during the onset of the disaster while traveling abroad on a diplomatic trip to Ghana.
Supporters, meanwhile, argue Bass inherited decades-old crises that no mayor could quickly resolve and credit her with confronting politically difficult issues such as homelessness while also defending Los Angeles during immgration enforcement actions last summer.
Raman has attempted to position herself as Bass’ most serious ideological challenger from the left, focusing heavily on housing affordability, tenant protections and criticism of the city’s political status quo.
The Fourth District councilmember, who first won office in 2020 with support from the Democratic Socialists of America, entered the mayoral race hours before the filing deadline, weeks after publicly endorsing Bass’ reelection campaign.
Since entering the race, Raman has criticized Bass’ Inside Safe homelessness initiative as too costly, while arguing Los Angeles needs more aggressive structural reforms to address housing affordability, homelessness and city services.
Raman has also sought to frame herself as a candidate capable of channeling voter frustration into what she describes as a more ambitious vision for the city.
“We can have an affordable city, we can have a city where services work, we can have a city where homelessness is addressed,” she said in an interview last week at a campaign event. “We can have a city where people can dream big again and be ambitious, but we have to work for it, and that’s what my vision is about.”
But Raman also faces challenges expanding her citywide profile beyond politically engaged progressive voters. Despite polling near the top tier of candidates, she has not secured endorsements from any fellow City Council members, including several progressive colleagues who instead backed Bass.
Pratt, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the race’s most unconventional and unpredictable candidates.
Best known for his role on the MTV reality television series “The Hills,” Pratt has built much of his campaign around viral social media content, outsider rhetoric and sharp criticism of City Hall leadership after the Palisades fire that destroyed his family’s home last year.
He formally announced his mayoral bid during a January rally marking the one-year anniversary of the fire, framing his candidacy as a response to what he described as failures in wildfire preparedness and emergency response.
Pratt has campaigned heavily on expanding police staffing, mandatory treatment for homeless people struggling with addiction and what he describes as restoring accountability in city government. He has repeatedly portrayed both Bass and Raman as representatives of a political system that has failed to address affordability, public safety and homelessness.
Pratt also recently drew attention after President Donald Trump spoke favorably about his candidacy, though analysts noted such support could cut both ways in heavily Democratic Los Angeles.
AI-generated videos portraying Pratt as superhero-like figures battling fictionalized versions of Bass and other Democratic leaders have generated significant online attention while also drawing criticisms from opponents and women’s advocacy groups.
Even some political observers who initially viewed Pratt as more of a novelty candidate said his debate performances and online visibility have helped elevate his standing in the race.
“He didn’t come across as an extremist or a madman,” former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said after a recent mayoral debate. “He came across as a political candidate who had something to say.”
While Bass, Raman and Pratt have dominated much of the attention heading into the primary, several other candidates have also attempted to carve out distinct lanes in the crowded field.
Tech entrepreneur and nonprofit executive Miller has positioned himself as a political outsider focused on management, accountability and operational efficiency at City Hall, arguing that Los Angeles suffers from bureaucratic dysfunction, slow permitting and a lack of accountability within city government.
Housing advocate and pastor Huang, meanwhile, has campaigned on a progressive platform centered on affordable housing, tenant protections, public transit and structural reforms to city government, including proposals to expand social housing and public participation in policymaking.
The race also includes nine additional candidates, including community advocates, attorneys, entrepreneurs and neighborhood activists, though recent polling suggests Bass, Pratt and Raman have emerged as the contest’s dominant contenders heading into Election Day.
Any candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote wins outright. If no candidate clears that threshold, the top two finishers will advance to a Nov. 3 runoff.