Los Angeles mayoral candidate and former reality television star Spencer Pratt, obliterated current Democratic Mayor Karen Bass in fundraising, pulling in almost 10 times more than her in contributions, according to information contained in new statements concerning the latest campaign finance reporting period.
Pratt raised close to $2.72 million between April 19 and May 16, the statements revealed, compared with only $283,000 for the Democrat incumbent. The former reality TV star also reported a total of $3.26 million in contributions, giving him the edge over Bass with $3.13 million. The other individual running for the coveted mayoral office, Councilmember Nithya Raman, reported bringing in over $931,000 through the May 16 filing period, along with $401,000 since April 19.
Keep in mind, however, that part of that money, $60,000, came from a loan Raman gave to her own campaign. Pratt’s fundraising numbers indicate that he has a fairly good chance of earning enough votes in the June 2 GOP primary to make it to the general election, according to Mike Murphy, a political consultant and former chief advisor to former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
According to a report published by the Los Angeles Times, various opinion polls show Bass leading the race overall, but the margin she has over other candidates is so small that it will not be enough to avoid a runoff. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote in June, the top two candidates will then face off in the Nov. 3 general election.
As of this writing, Pratt is engaged in an intense race for second place with Raman, according to polling data. The LA Times report said that Raman’s campaign used its donations to secure $1.26 million in public matching funds. Another individual who jumped into the mayoral race, tech guru Adam Miller, reported pulling in $276,000 in contributions and $4 million in loans that he made to his campaign. Miller, however, trails behind the leading candidates by a significant margin.
Bass’s campaign has spent the most money on the mayoral race thus far, $3.66 million, outpacing spending by Miller who has essentially squandered $3.18 million on a campaign that is going nowhere fast. Pratt reported spending $2.39 million on various expenditures, while Raman spent $1.52 million. The good news for Pratt is that he has a bit more money to spend on the remainder of the race compared to other leading candidates.
Pratt has $1.42 million at his disposal, while Bass has around $1.32 million, Miller has almost $1.3 million, and Raman pulls up the rear with a million dollars even. Murphy questioned why Pratt has so much cash on hand with voters already mailing in their ballots. “If he takes a million bucks of that money or a million-five and spends it on media, digital, TV, cable, even some linear TV, I think that could give him a real edge to get into a runoff with Bass,” he said.
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“But I’m curious why he hasn’t done that a week ago, because the clock is ticking,” he added. Pratt has dropped $500,000 on digital advertising and billboards as a means of getting his message in front of LA voters. Many MAGA supporters have been throwing money in Pratt’s direction ever since President Donald Trump signaled he was backing Pratt.
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