Tipsheet

Spencer Pratt Leads Karen Bass Ahead of LA's Primary Election

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  June 01, 2026 12:45 PM

Los Angeles Mayoral Candidate Spencer Pratt now leads incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in a shocking new poll ahead of Tuesday's primary election. 

Pratt leads Bass with 30.1 percent support, while Bass trails closely at 29.5 percent, effectively putting the two candidates in a statistical tie, according to a California Post poll conducted by McLaughlin & Associates. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.

The poll also found that 62 percent of Los Angeles voters believe the city is currently headed in the wrong direction.

“I think the mayor’s race is a lot more volatile,” John McLaughlin, CEO of McLaughlin & Associates told The California Post. “Normally it’s a slam dunk for the Democrats, but it’s being driven by the negatives on Bass.”

The poll surveyed 400 likely Los Angeles voters between May 26 and May 28.

The sample included voters from every major region of the city, with 52 percent of respondents identifying as White, 27 percent Hispanic, 10 percent Black, and 9 percent Asian. The survey was also composed of 53 percent female and 47 percent male respondents, with an average age of 52. 

While the survey did undersample Hispanic voters relative to Los Angeles’ overall demographics, it found that Pratt is performing particularly well among that group. He leads the field with 33 percent support among Hispanic voters, compared to 24 percent for Bass and 21 percent for Raman. Hispanic voters in the city have traditionally leaned Democrat.

This comes as Pratt has emerged as a major contender in the city’s mayoral race, fueled in part by one of the most aggressive advertising campaigns in recent memory. The former reality TV star has pitched himself as a common-sense candidate, vowing to tackle Los Angeles’ homelessness crisis and rising crime concerns, while arguing that Democratic officials have failed to deliver meaningful results during their time in office and are proposing to expand many of the same policies.

The city’s primary election is scheduled for Tuesday, with the top two candidates expected to advance to the general election. Pratt and Bass are widely viewed as the most likely contenders to face off in November, when Los Angeles voters will have a chance to reverse the decline of one of America’s most iconic cities.