With about 40 days until the statewide primary election, Los Angeles voters are undecided on who the next person to hold the office of mayor should be.
According to the latest polls, Spencer Pratt, a Republican and former reality TV star, received 11% of the support, compared to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ 24%.
Meanwhile, 40% of voters remained undecided.
This poll was conducted by the University of California, Los Angeles, and FM3 from March 15 to 19.
Spencer Pratt receives endorsement from Joe Rogan
Following the publication of the survey results, Pratt received an endorsement from podcaster and political commentator Joe Rogan.
Rogan said he would support Pratt in the upcoming election if he could. He left California in 2020.
“I can’t vote for you, but I’m rooting for you,” Rogan said. “I mean, if I lived in Los Angeles, no question whatsoever, I would vote for you.”
Pratt, whose home burned down in the Palisades fire, is suing the city over negligence. Asked if he would drop the lawsuit, Pratt responded, “Absolutely not.”
“The city failed over 10,000 people. 12 of them died, 7,000 structures. And that lawsuit is going forward,” he said. “The judge will have the ruling. So there would be no conflict because the mayor does not control the outcome of that lawsuit.”
Other candidates in LA race
While Rogan’s backing gave Pratt a bump in visibility and fundraising efforts, he is up against a crowded field and an uphill battle against incumbent Bass.
Progressive candidate and city councilmember Nithya Raman received 9% support in the survey.
With promises of cutting red tape and installing a film czar, Raman has tried wooing Hollywood. She is the spouse of “30 Rock” producer Vali Chandrasekaren and enjoys strong backing from Jeffrey Katzenberg, a Hollywood mogul who fundraised for President Joe Biden’s campaign, as Deadline reported.
“Look around, studio lots like this one used to be full of people,” Raman said in a new video. “Customers, electricians, set medics, caterers, thousands of Angelenos making a living. Now these lots are quiet. Since 2018, shooting days in the city of Los Angeles have fallen by half.”
Bass fell short of addressing the film industry’s concerns in her latest $15 billion budget, the report added.
In Los Angeles, any candidate with more than 50% of the vote wins the primary, as per the city’s charter. If no candidate can garner the required support, the election goes to a runoff on Nov. 3.
Other notable candidates in the June 2 mayoral race are tech entrepreneur Adam Miller and community organizer Rae Huang.
As Jim Newton, in his commentary for CalMatters, noted, Bass isn’t as strong a candidate as she was four years ago, especially as LA experiences a shift toward progressive policies.
“The city’s political center of gravity may be shifting so rapidly that Bass, the first Black woman to hold the office and a veteran Democrat, may be too conservative for the city she governs,” Newton said.
“Add that to general voter dissatisfaction with her handling of the Palisades fire and its aftermath, and Bass could face a genuine threat from Raman, the most credible of her opponents.”