Spencer Pratt is running for mayor. Can he save LA? | Opinion

Two things define Los Angeles today: endless sunshine and the consequences of failed leftist governance.

Under Democratic leadership, Angelenos have watched businesses flee, homelessness surge and taxes climb. The once-dazzling city – home to Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Venice Beach – has become a dilapidated mess.

That is why I’m glad to see Republican-turned-independent Spencer Pratt, 42, former star of reality television’s “The Hills,” entering the Los Angeles mayoral race. On April 29, Pratt released a sharp campaign ad that, in just 30 seconds, highlighted the widening gap between Democratic governance and the daily realities many Angelenos face.

Los Angeles has already had years to test one-party rule and has watched the City of Angels lose its halo. It might be time to try something different before the damage becomes irreversible.

LA needs different leadership

Pratt’s video underscores why Angelenos need to try different leadership. Brief, pointed and politically effective, it delivers a gut punch by contrasting Mayor Karen Bass’ Getty House and City Councilmember Nithya Raman’s multimillion dollar home with the city’s homelessness crisis and wildfire devastation.

“They don’t have to live in the mess they’ve created, where you live,” Pratt says, as the camera shifts from a homeless encampment to an Airstream trailer on his burned-down Pacific Palisades property. “I know what the consequences of failed leadership are. ... We are going to get the golden age of Los Angeles back.”

Pratt launched his campaign in January, and it is beginning to gain real traction. He has raised more than $500,000, outpacing Bass.

As of May 2, Polymarket gives Pratt 19% odds, narrowly under Bass at 21%. Raman remains the clear front-runner, however, with 54%.

The reality television star is also drawing influential support. Joe Rogan hosted Pratt on his podcast April 15 and endorsed him, while noting that he himself is not a California resident. During the interview, Pratt laid out his positions on homelessness, crime and corruption in Los Angeles.

Pratt will still face serious obstacles. Like many public figures who have spent decades in the spotlight, he carries political baggage and has displayed less-than-flattering sides of himself. More important, he lacks governing experience, a major liability in a city facing deep structural problems.

Still, what Pratt lacks in traditional political credentials, he could partially offset with zeal, grassroots energy and right-leaning populist appeal. Unlike many politicians who appear motivated by fame or ambition, Pratt has already lived in the public eye. His campaign is fueled less by personal advancement than by visible anger over Los Angeles’ decline, a message that could resonate with frustrated voters.

After the 2025 fires destroyed his Pacific Palisades home, Pratt filed a negligence lawsuit against the city and started speaking out on social media about how to turn LA around.

More than a year after the Palisade and Eaton wildfires destroyed roughly 13,000 homes, fewer than a dozen have been rebuilt.

Angelenos have nothing to lose

I’m glad to see Pratt running for mayor. Even if he ultimately falls short, the growing momentum behind his campaign could signal that Angelenos, and perhaps Californians more broadly, are beginning to reckon with the damage many believe leftist governance has inflicted.

Pratt is not alone in trying to push California politics in a different direction.

Republican Steve Hilton is also mounting a serious campaign for governor and currently appears competitive with Democratic candidate Tom Steyer. A recent CBS News poll of likely California primary voters found Hilton at 16% support, narrowly ahead of Steyer at 15% in a crowded field.

Under California's "top-two" primary system, the two highest vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation.

Hilton has also secured a notable endorsement from Google cofounder Sergey Brin, a former California resident who has increasingly backed Republican causes.

Brin is investing millions in California politics in an effort to keep the state from drifting further toward the kind of socialism his family escaped when they fled the Soviet Union in 1979.

In a recent interview on the "All-In" podcast, Hilton described California as a state where residents are struggling with high taxes, bad schools and unaffordable housing. He argued that conservative reforms offer a needed alternative.

“Broadly, the argument is going to be very straightforward, which is: Are you happy with the way things are going in California? Do you want more of it? And if you do, vote Democrat. Or do you think we need a change?” Hilton said.

It's hard to look at Los Angeles, or California more broadly, and not conclude that something needs to change. Democrats have held a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers of the state legislature for years. Under their leadership, burdensome government regulations have forced businesses like Public Storage, Tesla and Chevron to leave.

Now, proposals like a “billionaire tax” threaten to create even stronger incentives for wealthy business owners to relocate. As written, the legislation actually allows the tax to trickle down to other non-billionaire residents, too. Soon, Californians won't be able to pay for basic necessities.

It’s encouraging to see candidates like Republican Steve Hilton and independent Spencer Pratt gaining traction in California’s political landscape. Whether or not they prevail, their rise suggests that more voters might be open to alternatives. At this point, many Californians may feel they have little to lose by giving different leadership a chance.

Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.