The 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election was largely expected to be sleepy and boring: It seemed for a while that reelection efforts for Mayor Karen bass would be smooth sailing.
But in a dramatic turn of the tide — fitting for Tinseltown — the destructive and deadly Palisades Fire happened in 2015, killing a dozen people and destroying thousands of homes. Bass’ handling of the fire has eventually led Spencer Pratt, reality TV personality and Palisades Fire victim, to challenge the mayor.
Another surprise for Bass: just hours before filing deadline, LA Councilmember Nithya Raman decided to run for mayor and challenge Bass — someone whom Raman endorsed a few weeks prior.
Karen Bass
Bass is a woman of many firsts: the first woman to become LA mayor, the first Black woman to be a speaker of the California State Assembly.
While critics may want to replace Bass with someone else over the handling of the wildfire, Bass is a seasoned politician who has never lost an election. And because Bass has years of experience in community organizing, it may be too soon to count her out.
Spencer Pratt
Pratt, a Republican candidate, calls himself a media entrepreneur.
He lost the home he shares with his wife Heidi Montag, another reality TV show personality, in the Pacific Palisades in the deadly wildfire. Since then, he has used his public platforms to criticize Mayor Bass.
Pratt has pledged to fight for Angelenos to make the city “camera ready” once again.
Nithya Raman
Raman became the first South Asian woman elected to the LA City Council in 2020, defeating an incumbent candidate.
Homelessness is one of the key issues for Raman’s campaign platform as she has been subtly — or not so subtly — criticizing Bass’ strategies to combat homelessness.