The Spencer Pratt Nithya Raman runoff fight in Los Angeles is getting intense. Mayor Karen Bass has already secured her place on the November ballot. Now Pratt and Raman are locked in a tight race for the second spot as more ballots are counted.
Bass moves on, challengers battle for second
Bass finished first in the nonpartisan primary and earned a clear lead. She did not reach the 50% needed to win the race outright, so the L.A. mayor race goes to a November runoff. The surprise was what happened right behind her.
Spencer Pratt, a reality‑TV star and political newcomer, jumped into second place in early returns. Initial counts showed him in the high 20s to about 30% of the vote, while Nithya Raman, a progressive city councilmember, trailed in the low 20s on election night. For someone with no experience in elected office, Pratt’s early strength shocked many observers. He built his name on MTV’s “The Hills” and on social media, yet suddenly stood one step away from a possible Spencer Pratt Nithya Raman runoff.
Late ballots give Raman new life
Then the slow California count kicked in. Los Angeles relies heavily on mail‑in voting, and those ballots arrive and are processed over several days. They often favor more progressive candidates and younger voters.
As new batches of votes arrived, Raman started to gain ground. One update that added tens of thousands of ballots cut into Pratt’s lead, with his share slipping to around 29% while hers climbed into the mid‑20s. There are still many ballots left to count, and estimates suggest hundreds of thousands of county ballots remain. In a race where only a few points separate Pratt and Raman, that is huge.
Polls showed a three‑way contest coming
A recent UC Berkeley–L.A. Times poll hinted at this exact situation. The survey taken before Election Day showed Bass, Raman and Pratt bunched together, with Bass holding about a quarter of likely voters and the other two just a few points behind. Since March, Raman and Pratt each gained about eight points, while Bass stayed roughly where she was. The numbers suggested voters were still shopping for an alternative, setting up the current Spencer Pratt Nithya Raman runoff drama.
The poll also tested possible November matchups. In those scenarios, Pratt trailed Bass by double digits and also lagged badly behind Raman in a head‑to‑head race. So even if he survives to November, he would start as the underdog.
Two very different challengers
Raman and Pratt offer voters a sharp contrast. Raman is a progressive planner and sitting councilmember who talks about renter protections, homelessness solutions and climate‑focused transit plans. Her strength lies in younger, renter‑heavy and left‑leaning neighborhoods.
Pratt runs as an outsider and a disruptor. He leans into conservative and anti‑establishment themes and promises to crack down on crime and homelessness while shaking up City Hall. He relies heavily on name recognition and online reach. If Raman makes the runoff, voters would see a Bass versus Raman debate inside the Democratic and progressive lane. If Pratt makes it instead, the November race would be far more ideological, with Bass facing a celebrity conservative‑leaning outsider. That would turn the Spencer Pratt Nithya Raman runoff question into a broader clash over the city’s direction.
Waiting for the slow count to finish
For now, both Pratt and Raman are waiting as California’s process plays out. The state accepts mail ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but arrive later, and officials must verify every ballot. That takes time, especially in a huge county like Los Angeles.
Pratt projected confidence on election night and said he felt good about his chances if he advances. Raman’s team has pointed to the trend in late ballots and urged patience from supporters. Both campaigns know that a few thousand votes could decide who faces Bass in November. Bass can already look ahead, since her place in the runoff is secure, but the shape of the race is still unclear. It all depends on how the remaining ballots break in the Spencer Pratt Nithya Raman runoff fight for that final spot.
