Spencer Pratt appeared to concede the Los Angeles mayor’s race on Friday in a new video where he says “the campaign portion of my mission to save Los Angeles is coming to a close”, but declares “war” against the two candidates advancing to the city’s general election.
In the video posted on social media, Pratt notably did not contest the results of the election, despite Donald Trump’s repeated, but unfounded claims the race was “rigged”. Trump, who endorsed Pratt, called California’s elections “crooked”.
Although Pratt previously said he would leave LA if he did not win the election, the former reality TV star said in Friday’s video he is just starting his campaign to “save” LA.
On Monday, Nithya Raman, the progressive city councilmember, edged out Pratt to advance in the mayoral race. Raman will face the incumbent Karen Bass in November’s general election.
In his video, Pratt claimed to have information that could be damaging to either Raman’s or Bass’s campaign. “We have some recordings of one of your exalted candidates doing and saying something that would make her resign in shame. I was saving it for the general election,” Pratt said.
In a May interview with Adam Carolla, a podcast host, Pratt said: “If Karen Bass gets re-elected or Nithya gets elected, I will be done with trying to live in LA.”
But in Friday’s video, Pratt said: “I’m moving on to the next, more interesting phase,” adding: “I don’t have campaign laws hamstringing me now. It’s war.”
“I didn’t get in this for political power, I got in this to expose this corrupt machine. Nothing’s changed. You enjoy your worthless meetings at city hall,” he said. “You think your election is going to stop me. If you want to stop me, you’re going to have to fucking kill me.”
Pratt launched his campaign in January on the one-year anniversary of the Palisades fire, the largest wildfire in Los Angeles county history, which destroyed his Pacific Palisades home. He centered concerns about the wildfire and the future of Los Angeles in his campaign, framing the city as facing an apocalyptic moment.
As a registered Republican running in largely Democratic Los Angeles, which has not elected a Republican mayor in more than 20 years, Pratt faced an uphill battle, even when he secured Trump’s endorsement in May. Pratt, best known for his villainous turn on MTV’s mid-80s reality series The Hills, frequently faced questions about his lack of political experience.
