Los Angeles Democratic city councilwoman Nithya Raman, Republican mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt’s rival, broke down in tears on stage as she faced the reality that she would not be moving forward in the race. While voters were still being tallied in L.A., Pratt overtook Raman to land in second place behind incumbent Mayor Karen Bass — also a Democrat — pushing the city councilwoman into third.
In the city’s mayoral race, only the top two candidates move forward to the general election. On June 3, 2026, a few hours after the polls closed at 8 p.m., Pratt was ahead of Raman by a whopping 40,000 votes. Polls showed that Pratt held 30% while Raman had 22%. Keep in mind that California has an established history of substantial vote updates following Election Day that can shift the outcome as mail-in ballots arrive and drop-off votes are counted.
Raman, 44, held back tears as she thanked all her supporters at her watch party held in downtown Los Angeles. “Los Angeles is the most magical city in the entire world,” Raman told the crowd attending the event, as the results showed she was being bested by Pratt. “Win or lose, I am so proud to be an Angeleno and I’m so grateful to call this extraordinary city my home.”
According to a report from The Sun, Raman added, “No matter what happens in this election, I will never stop fighting for it.” Mayor Karen Bass, 72, clinched her spot in the November general election by pulling in roughly 35% of the vote. Pratt, who is new to the political scene and launched his campaign in January 2026, ripped Bass’ performance in the role and tore into her for failing the city.
“I literally could not be more excited,” Pratt, 42, said as the results of the election were pouring in during his watch party. “I got in this because as a citizen I felt like my city failed myself, my neighbors, my family. Mayor Bass has allowed the city to become covered in potholes. Then there’s the moms who want to be able to go to the parks and not see anybody shooting up fentanyl with their pants off.”
Bass, who is attempting to secure a second term as mayor after taking office in December 2022, spent the evening eagerly watching and waiting to find out who her final opponent would be come November. Pratt, who is technically running as an Independent despite being a registered Republican, saw a massive surge in popularity in the usually left-leaning city, building much of his campaign around sympathizing with thousands of voters who were negatively impacted by the Palisades fires in January 2025.
Pratt, who first gained notoriety following his television debut in 2005, but his career really took off when he joined the cast of MTV’s “The Hills” two years later. He developed a reputation for being a “villain” on the program by churning out rumors and gossip concerning his co-stars, which included causing a rift between lead Lauren Conrad and housemate Heidi Montag.
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Montag and Pratt started dating after meeting on the show and were married in 2008. In 2013, Pratt and his wife appeared on the UK’s Celebrity Big Brother and returned to the show for season 19 in 2017. While Pratt built much of his campaign around the Palisades fire, Bass took heavy criticism for traveling to Africa when the wildfires first broke out.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video