Key facts
- Los Angeles County is counting late-arriving and provisional ballots.
- Spencer Pratt's prospects for becoming Los Angeles Mayor have diminished.
- A misleading vote update led some observers to believe zero votes were counted for Spencer Pratt.
- Spencer Pratt is challenging incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.
- Pratt's campaign centers on anger over the 2025 Palisades wildfire response.
Following Tuesday's election, Los Angeles County has commenced the process of counting late-arriving and provisional ballots. This ongoing count suggests that Spencer Pratt's prospects for winning the Los Angeles mayoral race have diminished. Pratt, who is challenging incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, has focused his campaign on issues such as Bass's alleged mishandling of the 2025 Palisades wildfire, an event that reportedly led to Pratt losing his home. A misleading update of votes reported by media outlets led some observers to believe there was a large batch of votes counted that included zero votes for candidate Spencer Pratt, though no such batch existed. The slow pace of ballot counting is characteristic of Los Angeles elections, where mail-in and provisional ballots can take weeks to finalize. Pratt's campaign leverages public anger over the disaster and slow recovery, using tactics like camping on his former home's lot in campaign ads. He demands accountability from elected officials and reform in insurance and emergency management. However, his anti-establishment stance and MAGA associations may hinder his chances against Bass, despite her unpopularity. Research suggests that poorly managed disasters can foster distrust in institutions and create fertile ground for anti-establishment politicians, a phenomenon that academic studies have linked to authoritarianism and political distrust. This dynamic, while often ignored in climate modeling, carries significant costs, including political dysfunction that slows rebuilding and disrupts insurance markets. Pratt's rise indicates that extreme weather events do not universally drive political change towards addressing root causes.