The mayoral race in Los Angeles is getting very interesting as a new poll conducted by Emerson College has revealed that Republican candidate and former reality television star, Spencer Pratt, is now within striking distance of current Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, taking 22% support in the latest survey. Bass, somehow, pulled in 30% support, while Democrat City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is linked to socialists, came in third with 19%.
The survey from Emerson was conducted between May 9-10 and found that all three candidates are experiencing a huge bump in support as undecided voters finally make up their minds ahead of the June 2 primary. “Nithya Raman started this race with high expectations, but she continues to fall short — with the debate a stark example of her not being up to the job and this poll shows Angelenos recognize that,” a spokesperson for Bass said to the New York Post.
“Repeated votes to allow encampments near schools and to shrink LAPD is not what Los Angeles needs. We look forward to winning the general election against either Nithya Raman or Spencer Pratt,” the spokesperson continued. The number of folks who were undecided dropped from 51% in March to just 16% in the latest poll.
To illustrate how quickly things have changed, back in March, Bass was enjoying a rather comfortable lead with 20% support, with Pratt and Raman only pulling in roughly half that. Pratt got a big boost of 12 percentage points. Bass and Raman increased by 10 percentage points, according to The New York Post. Pratt, who is beginning to draw GOP voters into his camp has made good use of political ads that have captured a lot of attention.
He has also garnered praise from both Democrats and Republicans for his recent debate performance. “Unfortunately, my entire life is talking to people in the industry, but I can report that everyone was pleasantly — or unpleasantly — surprised by Spencer Pratt’s debate performance,” Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo said during an interview with The California Post.
The polling data revealed an age divide in the race with voters over 60 preferring Bass more and Pratt second. Voters under 40 pulled mostly for Raman, but ranked Pratt last. Many conservatives believe this is a product of young people constantly being bombarded by leftist messaging in schools and pop culture. Pratt was the top choice for male voters at 30%, while women backed Bass the most at 36%.
Republican strategist Mike Madrid believes Bass would benefit from a ticket in the general election that left the far more radical Raman off the ballot. “I think the chances of Bass making the runoff are considerably higher than they were before the debate,” he said in comments made to the Post. “She’s been trying to elevate Pratt. That’s the best way that she can survive. Does Pratt making the runoff benefit him? Of course, it benefits him because he’s the candidate, but it benefits Bass more.”
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Madrid stated that Raman’s campaign has nearly “collapsed,” noting that Democratic voters in a city as left-wing as Los Angeles will cave in and vote for Bass over someone like Pratt, who they view as a Trump-like figure, no matter how much frustration they feel over the failed policies of the former. “There’s absolutely a connection to be made with the tone and tenor and style of his campaign, and there are definitely correlations that can and should be made between him and Trump,” he pointed out.
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