Why Democrats May Be Headed For Reality Check Round Two

Reality check for Democrats — literally.

Spencer Pratt, the once-infamous “The Hills” villain turned viral political outsider, is suddenly within striking distance of becoming mayor of Los Angeles, and the new numbers are the kind that should make City Hall break into a cold sweat.

New Cygnal polling released this week shows Pratt climbing to 25% support once voters hear more about the race, putting him tied with incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, whose numbers remain completely flat.

That’s a brutal position for an incumbent mayor in a city where voters increasingly believe everything is spiraling in the wrong direction.

Just 30% of voters say Los Angeles is headed the right way, while 58% say the city is on the wrong track.

Their top frustrations? Cost of living, homelessness, and corruption, essentially the entire modern Los Angeles experience.

Cygnal CEO Brent Buchanan said Bass appears “flat, capped out,” while Pratt still has room to grow, particularly among independents, men, and Northeast Valley voters.

And suddenly, what once looked like a Hollywood punchline is starting to look like a genuine outsider campaign.

Pratt has built much of his campaign around viral videos blasting Los Angeles leadership over crime, homelessness, drugs, and wildfire failures, while positioning himself as the anti-establishment candidate in a city voters increasingly feel has been badly mismanaged.

The whole thing even caught President Donald Trump’s attention during a recent exchange with Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan.

“Do you see yourself in him at all? A former reality TV star?” Olohan asked Trump.

“I’d like to see him do well. He’s a character. I don’t know. I don’t know him. I assume he probably supports me,” Trump replied.
When Olohan said she believed Pratt did support him, Trump leaned into the comparison.

“I heard he does,” Trump said. “I heard he’s a big MAGA person. He’s doing well.”

Trump then pivoted into criticism of California’s voting system, arguing the state’s elections are “very dishonest” because of widespread mail-in voting.

“If we had Jesus Christ come down and count the votes, I would have won California,” Trump said.

And honestly, there’s a reason Democrats may be getting a little uncomfortable watching this unfold.

After all, Democrats once laughed off a reality TV star named Donald Trump, too. That worked out great for them.

Trump famously turned “The Apprentice” into a political launchpad before bulldozing his way into the White House. Now, a former reality TV villain with frosted hair and a crystal obsession is mounting his own outsider-style political rise in a city where voters appear increasingly fed up with establishment leadership.

Meanwhile, Pratt’s candidacy is already rattling Democrats enough that far-Left Los Angeles Councilwoman Nithya Raman recently warned supporters Trump was “about to endorse Spencer” while urging donors to stop a “MAGA Republican mayor.”
Pratt responded with an eye-roll GIF from a mayoral debate.

Which honestly feels like the most Spencer Pratt political response imaginable.

But beneath the memes and reality TV history, there’s something much bigger happening here: voters in one of America’s bluest cities appear so frustrated with the status quo that they’re willing to seriously consider a celebrity outsider promising to clean things up.

And for Democrats in Los Angeles, that may be the biggest reality check of all.