Reality TV star Spencer Pratt gains traction in Los Angeles mayoral race after fiery debate

An aggressive and impassioned debate performance this week by reality TV star and online influencer-turned Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt is the latest evidence that his populist pitch to lead the nation’s second-most populous city appears to be gaining traction.

Pratt tangled with the debate moderator after charging that incumbent Mayor Karen Bass was an "incredible liar" and argued that progressive City Council member Nithya Raman would get "stabbed in the neck" if she tried to offer treatment to homeless people encamped in underpasses below the city’s freeways.

His apparent rise is fueled in part by his well-known status as one of the victims who lost their homes in last year's devastating wildfires, when over 17,000 homes in Los Angeles County were destroyed, as well as his right-leaning focus on homelessness, crime, and government accountability in a city long run by Democrats.

Pratt, who is running as an independent and outsider and has labeled himself a "truth-to-power" candidate, has grabbed significant media attention for his campaign ads targeting both Bass and Raman.

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Pratt, who has blamed Bass for the destruction of his home, released an ad last week that aimed to tap into Angelenos’ frustration over the city’s current leadership, its response to the wildfires, and its handling of the homeless crisis.

"This is where Mayor Bass lives. Do you notice something? Or here, where Nithya Raman's $3 million mansion sits," Pratt said in the ad, as he stands in front of homes of his top two rivals. "They don't have to live in the mess they've created."

His opponents say that Pratt is borrowing a page from President Donald Trump’s politics of grievance playbook.

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"Spencer is doing his best Trump impression, but it's not going to work in LA," Bass' campaign argued, in response to the recent ad.

It was a similar response from Raman's campaign, which charged, "Spencer Pratt plays directly from the Donald Trump playbook — incendiary language, fear mongering, and political stunts meant to divide and distract."

But Pratt's campaign appears to be resonating with plugged-in voters. According to recent city figures, Pratt has raised more in donations since the start of the year than any of the other contenders.

There has been a dearth of recent polling in the race, but surveys conducted a month ago suggested Bass held a small double-digit lead over Pratt and Raman, with a large percentage of respondents undecided.

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"He's got some very harsh but imaginative videos online," veteran Los Angeles-area political scientist Jack Pitney of Claremont McKenna College told Fox News Digital.

"He's catching fire online," Pitney said. "Whether he's catching fire with people who vote in Los Angeles is a different question."

If no candidate tops 50% in the June 2 primary, the top two finishers will face off in November.

"His shot is the dissatisfaction message," Pitney said as he pointed to what may be Pratt’s real strength. "He was displaced by the fire and people are very dissatisfied with the state of government in Los Angeles."