Spencer Pratt, a reality TV star, entered the Los Angeles mayoral race as an outsider hoping to fix up the city he loves so dearly.
Although Pratt, a registered Republican, is running as an independent, he shares a lot in common with recently elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist.
For starters, they’re both millennials who know how to take advantage of social media to build their brands.
They’ve also both had interesting interactions with President Donald Trump.
Trump, who also used to be a reality TV star, praised Pratt last week, saying, “I’d like to see him do well. He’s a character.”
“I assume he probably supports me,” the president said.
Mamdani was at odds with Trump during the campaign, but while in office, he and the president have had productive meetings. They’ve bonded over their shared roots in Queens and their desire for the city to be an affordable and safe place to live.
Mamdani and Pratt have vastly different ideas on how to help their respective cities, but their approach to garnering the public’s attention is similar, and perhaps demonstrates the new way of running and winning campaigns.
Mamdani won with 50.78% of the vote in the November 2025 election, defeating well-known candidates like former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican activist Curtis Sliwa. His victory stunned New York City residents and showed the world that a populist message and charisma go a long way.
Pratt, who was also dismissed as a viable candidate when he first launched his bid for the mayoral race, is polling in second place behind the incumbent, Mayor Karen Bass.
Hollywood and Bollywood
Before their bids for mayor, both Pratt and Mamdani made an attempt at a rap career. Mamdani, as Mr. Cardamom, has a few known tracks, including the song “Nani,” which is a tribute to his grandmother, and “Number One Spice,” which was featured in “Queen of Katwe” a Disney movie directed by Mamdani’s mother, Mira Nair.
Pratt, on the other hand, was known as The Great White, and stuck to spoof music. His rapper alter ego made a return when he created a campaign ad that parodied the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” theme song. In it, he rapped about his life getting “flipped-turned upside down” by the Palisades Fire.
Mamdani and Pratt largely gained political credibility through entertaining ads that attracted millions of eyeballs on social media.
Mamdani’s videos experimented with trying to make a populist candidate more authentic while giving voters a break from the typical script politicians stick to. He found success. Now, Pratt is trying to replicate the formula but has added his own touch to it.
Mamdani’s ads often featured him on the move in New York City, popping into bodegas and greeting voters. The warm filters and the bold, stark orange lettering added to the nostalgic visuals. Most times, he would wear a suit and tie, but in one video, he has on a white kurta, or an ethnic long shirt.
Mamdani leaned on the expertise of his mother, Nair, an Indian American filmmaker, known for “Salaam Mumbai!” and “Mississippi Masala,” which stars Denzel Washington.
It’s safe to say Pratt’s aesthetic is much different. In contrast with Mamdani’s South Asian background, at the heart of Pratt’s campaign is his burned-down family home in Los Angeles.
In a video from late April, Pratt is seen walking around a wealthy neighborhood in L.A.
“This is where Mayor Bass lives. You notice something? Or here, where Nithya Raman’s $3 million mansion sits,” Pratt says in the 30-second ad, as he points to their homes.
“They don’t have to live in the mess they’ve created — where you live.”
The video then cuts to his mobile home in front of the empty lot where his house once stood.
“This is where I live,” he says. “They let my home burn down. I know what the consequences of failed leadership are. That’s why I’m running for mayor, for my sons and the rest of us Angelenos who want to stop these corrupt politicians from destroying our city. We are going to get the golden age of Los Angeles back.”
Although Pratt has Hollywood in his backyard, his campaign also received a boost from cinematic AI-generated ads.
Pratt’s campaign employed clipping agencies like “Clipping Culture LLC” to promote viral content created by supporters and fans on TikTok and Reels.
A series of videos casts Pratt as a Batman-inspired hero who attempts to save his city from his opponents, Bass and Raman, who are depicted as villains.
One with the people
Mamdani’s messaging online worked well with his grassroots organizing. In the early months of his campaign, he stood at a street corner in Queens and tried talking to New Yorkers passing by about elections and voting in an effort to understand the frustrations of the city’s voters.
He walked the entire length of Manhattan to engage with the public, collaborated with Twitch streamers and video gamers, and tied his campaign to the affordability crisis. Another noteworthy aspect of Mamdani’s campaign is his use of multiple languages to directly speak to NYC’s working class.
In the final weeks ahead of the June primary, Pratt is also trying to meet his voters where they’re at. He hosted a “Pratt Block Party” in Hyde Park, L.A., last week, featuring food trucks, music and canopies to shelter attendees from the heat.
A Vanity Fair profile on Pratt noted his proposal to build a treatment facility outside the city to help people struggling with substance disorders who are living on the streets. He is also not opposed to allowing federal agents to come into L.A. to enforce deportations.
“I don’t want U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement here but I want to get the murderers and rapists out,” Pratt told Vanity Fair. “I’ve eaten more Mexican food than any white person in Los Angeles. I love Mexican people.”
“I keep telling Heidi I have one arm into my future, so that’s why I keep saying I’m for sure going to be mayor. Because energetically it feels like I’m already in this new reality.”
Spencer Pratt on whether his campaign is like Mamdani’s
Pratt acknowledged his similarities with Mamdani, albeit sarcastically, while showcasing his common-sense approach to tackling crime and homelessness in L.A.
“I know (Mamdani) promised his voters the subway will be free, and I’m promising my voters the metro buses and the metro trains — they will be free from urine, feces, stabbing, attacks, so, that’s kind of similar,” Pratt told CBS News two weeks ago.
The reality TV star further mused that Mamdani connected with voters because he promised a change in the status quo in New York.
“That message would never connect here because we’ve already been doing this socialist experiment pretty much for six plus years and it’s failed here in Los Angeles,” he said.
His campaigns on social media resonate with voters because they are authentic and from the heart, Pratt said.
“I didn’t want to be a politician. I’m standing in what happened because of failed politicians,” he said.
Whatever his message may be, it’s resonating.
Pratt is garnering support from big-time Democratic donors. The long list includes Los Angeles Lakers president Jeanie Buss, megadonor Haim Saban and chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group Sir Lucian Grainge.
He also has support from a range of conservatives, from Joe Rogan, who endorsed Pratt during a podcast, Meghan McCain and Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk.
“Regardless of the outcome of Spencer Pratt’s race, what he’s doing is authentically American,” Kirk said in a post on May 21. “See a problem, become a part of the solution. His campaign ads are unconventional, but that’s the point; it’s refreshing.”
Kirk added: “I hope moments like this inspire more Americans to throw their names into the mix, run for office, get involved and stand up for what makes this country exceptional.”