A year after the Palisades wildfire leveled his family’s home, Spencer Pratt has announced his intention to join the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral race. The longtime reality TV fixture has emerged as an influential voice on public policy in the wake of the catastrophe, often drawing fire from elected officials.
Pratt went public with his plan at a Jan. 7 neighborhood rally focused on accountability for the fire, which killed a dozen people and destroyed more than 6,000 structures. Its aftermath has led to significant questions about the operations of institutions ranging from the city’s fire and water departments to the state park system, as well as the leadership of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass.
“Business as usual is a death sentence for Los Angeles, and I’m done waiting for someone to take real action,” he said from the stage. “That’s why I am running for mayor. Let me be clear: This isn’t a campaign, this is a mission. We’re going to expose the system, we’re going into every dark corner of the city and disinfect it with our light, and when we are done L.A. is going to be camera-ready again.”
Pratt, who long cultivated a clownish and villainous persona, leveraged his significant social media presence following the fire to refashion himself as an earnest mix of citizen watchdog and populist firebrand. While he’s claimed to be nonpartisan, his critical commentary has already had policymaking consequences that have made him an enemy within the state’s Democratic establishment. Meanwhile, Republicans across the country, from the Senate to the White House, have unsurprisingly been supportive of his efforts. If he files to enter the race, his foray would be a stark example of how outsider candidacies can focus election cycles around single issues.
Pratt’s wife, Heidi Montag, spoke before him, tearfully reminiscing about the loss of her community before offering an impassioned endorsement of her husband as its savior. “We need accountability,” she said. “Over the last year I have watched him work tirelessly — not just for my family but for yours. He has been relentless in exposing the negligence of the state, the city and the LADWP. He’s not doing this to make friends. In fact, he’s losing a lot of people he once thought were friends. But he cannot stay silent in the face of injustice.”
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Pratt for more specifics about his mayoral campaign. The election will be held June 2.
Bass has already announced her reelection bid. Other candidates include the former Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent Austin Beutner, who also lost his home in the Palisades Fire, as well as Rae Huang, a housing-rights activist who has been tipped as the race’s progressive. Still on the sidelines is billionaire developer Rick Caruso, a former Republican who lost to Bass in 2022 and, as the owner of the Palisades Village shopping center, which survived the fire, has been a key figure in the disaster recovery conversation.
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