Spencer Pratt lost his Palisades home to the January 2025 wildfires. He filmed his campaign ads in front of an Airstream trailer parked on the burnt lot. And now, polling shows him trailing only incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in a race to lead America's second-largest city.
The former Hills antagonist, best known for playing a despised boyfriend on the 2006 MTV series, has built a candidacy centered on fury over the city's wildfire response and a collapsing quality of life. He's picked up endorsements from Joe Rogan, praise from Elon Musk and Fox News hosts, and his ads dominate TikTok feeds nationwide. None of this seemed plausible a year ago.
Los Angeles remains locked in crisis. Nearly 44,000 people live on the streets. The city needs 270,000 affordable housing units it doesn't have. Rents and home prices rank among the nation's highest. The Trump administration's deportation push has destabilized the region. The city faces a budget shortfall while preparing to host the World Cup this summer and the 2028 Olympics.
Mayor Bass has pointed to a 17.5% reduction in homelessness as a signature achievement. But residents walking LA's streets don't feel the improvement. "The city has been living through this fiasco of homelessness now for many years without any strong results," said Sara Sadhwani, a political science professor at Pomona College. "People don't feel it when they walk around the streets."
The wildfires crystallized this frustration. The Palisades fire killed 12 people and destroyed more than 4,000 homes. Altadena lost 19 residents. According to a Politico analysis, just 10 homes had been rebuilt months later. Bass faced withering criticism over preparation and the sluggish recovery.
Pratt, who grew up in the Palisades, became one of the disaster's most vocal critics. He shared videos of his son's burnt bed and his obliterated home. He amplified neighbors' complaints about reopening timelines, insurance nightmares, and the EPA's decision to use a state beach parking lot for hazardous waste processing. He attended Washington meetings on federal disaster response. On the one-year anniversary of the fire, he announced his campaign, pledging to "expose the system."
Fire survivor Nina Madok now backs him. "Spencer Pratt lost his house just like I did," she said. "He has that empathy and has the boots on the ground." Madok sits on the Palisades Recovery Coalition's advisory board and said many Democrats who voted for Kamala Harris plan to vote for Pratt because he's kept the Palisades front and center.
His political ascent defies conventional logic. Pratt grew up wealthy in the Palisades, son of a dentist and homemaker. He studied political science at USC and briefly produced reality TV before joining The Hills as Heidi Montag's fiery boyfriend. The couple became tabloid fixtures and proto-influencers, making lavish money on magazine deals while spending it on designer goods. An NBC executive called them "everything that's wrong with America." In 2015, Salon joked that Pratt and Donald Trump had more in common than spray tans.
But Pratt's image softened over time. He became a self-deprecating dad posting hummingbird photos, promoting his wife's music and Erewhon burritos, running a crystal business. The fires handed him unexpected political currency as a fire victim with a voice.
His campaign reflects populist fury. Pratt promises to clear sidewalks and parks of encampments and adopt a "treatment first" model for homelessness, departing from California's housing-first approach. His ads carry Trumpian energy: derisive nicknames for opponents, mockery of journalists, references to "drug zombies." One particularly viral spot compares Bass's and city councilor Nithya Raman's homes with tents and finally Pratt's trailer, as he says, "This is where I live."
TMZ reported Pratt actually sleeps at the Hotel Bel-Air after receiving death threats, not the trailer. Pratt shrugged it off: "I don't have a house. They burned it down."
Another independent ad, made with AI and shared by his campaign, depicts Pratt as Batman saving the city while Bass, Raman, and Governor Gavin Newsom laugh as royal elites as guards labeled "DSA" rough up citizens.
Critics say Pratt lacks the experience to manage a $15 billion budget and navigate the city's powerful council and agencies. Bass told CNN her opponent lacks the "background or knowledge" of how government works. In a debate response, Pratt offered common sense, humility, and promises to hire smart people to handle finances.
Political analysts believe the race remains too fluid for a winner to emerge next month, with the top two advancing to a November runoff. UCLA's Zev Yaroslavsky said the outcome depends on how anti-establishment sentiment translates to votes. Polls from April showed Bass at 25%, Pratt at 11%, and progressive councilor Raman at 9%, but Pratt's May debate performance may have shifted momentum.
The nonpartisan race has become a referendum on the city's direction. Majority opinion holds Los Angeles is headed the wrong way. Pratt's bid represents something unexpected: a reality TV villain turned disaster critic tapping genuine urban despair and turning it into viability.
Author James Rodriguez: "A guy who once sold photos of Mary-Kate Olsen's friend for film money is now polling within striking distance of the mayor. That's not a character arc, that's an indictment of how broken people think the city has become."
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