Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Pulled Into Runoff in Fight to Keep Job

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is headed to a runoff election as she fights to keep her seat and secure a second term.

According to projections from The Associated Press, Bass failed to get enough votes on Tuesday to avoid a runoff, setting up a closely watched next phase in the mayoral race.

Former reality star Spencer Pratt and City Councilmember Nithya Raman are competing for the second spot on the November ballot, though officials say it could take several days before all the votes are counted and the race is officially decided.

Bass faced a crowded field of challengers amid criticism over her handling of several major issues, including the devastating 2025 L.A. wildfires, the city’s ongoing homelessness crisis, entertainment industry job losses, and a continuing housing crisis.

The latest numbers from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk show Bass with 34.78% of the vote. Pratt has 30.44%, while Raman follows with 22.32%. Political observers are predicting Bass will ultimately face Pratt in the November runoff election.

Pratt launched his mayoral campaign in January 2026 after losing his Pacific Palisades home in the Palisades Fire, as previously reported.

The television personality has been a vocal critic of Los Angeles leadership and said he entered the race to bring change to City Hall.

Although he has no political experience and is a registered Republican in the deeply blue city, Pratt has gained attention and support in the aftermath of the wildfire disaster and what some consider a deteriorating quality of life in L.A. since the pandemic.

Pratt rose to fame on MTV’s reality series The Hills. He has been criticized for failing to manage his personal finances. According to CNBC, Pratt and wife Heidi Montag “blew through” their $10 million fortune, ended up broke, and at one point had to move into a house owned by Pratt’s parents.

“I love to spend money, and she loves to not spend money,” Pratt has been quoted as saying. The issue led to questions as to how he would manage L.A.’s nearly $15 billion annual budget.

Raman, who is described locally as a democratic socialist, has faced backlash for her homelessness policies and slow responses to constituents, particularly when it comes to homeless encampments near schools. “I don’t think a kid’s gonna be safer if [encampments] are 10 feet or 500 feet away from a school,” she previously said as reported by The California Post.

Bass made history in 2022 when she became the first Black woman elected mayor of Los Angeles.

Despite criticism of her current tenure, which has seen cuts to city services and sharp declines in Hollywood jobs — partly because of local policies and red tape — Bass has argued that she deserves another four years to continue the work started during her first term.

The current election marks a rare challenge for an incumbent Los Angeles mayor. It has been 21 years since a sitting mayor was forced into a runoff after serving a first term. In 2005, then-City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa defeated incumbent Mayor James Hahn, who was running for reelection.

Villaraigosa was on the ballot Tuesday in the California governor’s race, but quickly conceded defeat.