Spencer Pratt, Karen Bass, And The Weirdest Mayor’s Race In America
My latest CA Post column looks at the strange, very LA possibility that Spencer Pratt could make the runoff for mayor, and why Karen Bass may have a bigger problem than City Hall wants to admit.
Our morning content is free for all subscribers and guests! If you are not yet a paid subscriber, consider upgrading — you are missing a significant portion of what we produce each week, and your support makes it possible. If you want to get it all and support my efforts, please consider a paid subscription!
You can also listen to this post — along with my California Post column — on our podcast feed, So, Does It Matter? SPOKEN. It is available on your favorite podcast app. And you can listen to it here.
Viral Politics Comes For L.A. City Hall
Los Angeles politics may be about to get very weird.
For months, Spencer Pratt’s campaign for mayor has been treated by the political class as a novelty act — a reality television personality making viral videos, mocking City Hall, and generating online buzz.
But what if the joke is on them?
An Emerson College poll shows Mayor Karen Bass well below the 50% mark she needs to avoid a November runoff. Even more interesting, Pratt is now within striking distance of second place.
That matters because Pratt does not need to beat Bass in June. He only needs to beat Nithya Raman.
And that is a very different proposition.
In my full California Post column, I look at why Raman’s progressive lane may be narrowing, why some attacks on Pratt may actually help him, why Bass may prefer facing Pratt over Raman in November, and whether viral enthusiasm can be turned into actual votes in a low-turnout Los Angeles election.
This race is part politics, part social media experiment, and part warning sign about just how frustrated Los Angeles voters have become.