In L.A. Mayor Race, Spencer Pratt Is Karen Bass' Top Rival, Polling Shows

Los Angeles Top Threat in Race for L.A. Mayor ... Karen Bass Polling Finds

Published March 2, 2026 8:45 AM PST | Updated March 2, 2026 9:29 AM PST

Spencer Pratt is Karen Bass’ biggest threat in the race for Los Angeles mayor ... at least according to the Bass campaign’s own internal pollster.

An email sent Thursday by Bass campaign advisor Douglas Herman to “Interested Parties” -- including endorsers and supporters -- states that the campaign’s internal pollster, Binder Research, currently shows Pratt in position to make the November runoff.

The letter -- obtained by TMZ -- also takes direct aim at Nithya Raman, the L.A. City Councilmember and progressive who entered the race late and is widely viewed as a key challenger.

Herman argues Raman is nowhere near the level of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani in terms of “name awareness, unified base or favorable appeal” in L.A. ... adding that with just over 70 days until primary ballots are mailed to voters, Raman faces a steep uphill climb.

Earlier this month, we caught up with Spencer at a campaign event, where he confidently predicted an easy victory -- and even suggested Bass could end up in jail, referencing an L.A. Times story alleging she directed changes to a report detailing the LAFD’s response to last year's devastating Pacific Palisades wildfire. Bass has flatly denied the claims.

On the flip side ... Spencer is apparently having having trouble getting all his family members on board with his mayoral bid -- his sister, Stephanie, blasted his candidacy, saying “A vote for him is a vote for stupidity.”

Ballots haven’t dropped yet ... but the gloves clearly have.