During a fiery debate on Wednesday night, Spencer Pratt, a contender in the Los Angeles mayoral race, sharply criticized his opponent Nithya Raman, dismissing her as merely “a random city council member.”
The 42-year-old reality TV personality’s comment appeared to rattle Raman, who reportedly continued to express her displeasure to a KNBC reporter after the debate, as noted by the LA Times.
Pratt’s jab came in response to Raman’s accusation that he was conspiring with the current Mayor, Karen Bass, to sideline her from the race. Raman suggested that Pratt and Bass aimed to face off solely against each other, believing it would strengthen their chances of winning.
The audience reacted with laughter to Pratt’s retort, where he sarcastically dismissed the idea of an alliance with Bass, saying, “Mayor Bass and I are definitely not working together. I hold her accountable for burning my house down.”
Pratt has been vocal in his criticism of Mayor Bass’s management of the LA wildfires, which led to the destruction of his $3.8 million residence and 11,000 other homes across Southern California last January.
Pratt expressed a preference for competing against Raman alone in the election, excluding Bass from the contest.
‘All the unions support Mayor Bass,’ he said. ‘You think it’s easier to run against the incumbent mayor with all the unions, or a random city council member who has been a failure for six years?’
Assessments of the debate broadly deemed that Raman struggled up against Pratt and Bass, with KNBC describing it as a ‘rough night’ for the city councilwoman.
Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt eviscerated his woke rival as a ‘random city council member’ as he squared off in a heated debate on Wednesday night
Councilwoman Nithya Raman (right) reportedly complained about Pratt’s jibe following the debate, in which she was deemed by many to have had a ‘rough night’ up against the reality TV star and incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (left)
It comes as Pratt’s campaign for LA Mayor continues to pick up steam, with The Hills star spotlighting the high levels of drug use and homelessness in the city as well as Bass’s response to the wildfires.
In her post-debate interview with KNBC, Raman doubled down and again said Pratt and Bass were ‘attacking me because both of them want to face the other person.’
‘I believe that our choices in this election do not have to be the very broken status quo that is frustrating so many Angelenos, or a MAGA Republican,’ she said.
Recent polls show a toss-up in the election before voters head to the polls on June 2, with the election heading to a run-off on November 3 if no candidate wins over 50 percent of the vote.
Pratt registered at 14 percent support in a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies Poll last month, coming behind Bass at 25 percent and Raman at 17 percent.
Prediction market Kalshi gives Pratt a 22 percent chance of victory, surging from less than 10 percent a week before the high-stakes debate on Wednesday night.
LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano said the debate had ‘two winners and one loser,’ as he slammed Raman for ‘failing’ to position herself as a leading candidate for voters.
‘At times, Raman was tongue-tied trying to answer simple questions,’ the columnist said.
Assessments of the debate broadly deemed that Raman (pictured) struggled up against Pratt and Bass, with LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano concluding that the debate had ‘two winners and one loser’
Pratt, who is married to reality TV star Heidi Montag, has surged in the LA mayoral race in recent weeks, basing his platform on scathing Bass’s handling of the Palisades fire that devastated his home and rampant homelessness across the city
Pratt’s family home was burned in the Palisades fire in January 2025
‘Raman, who had endorsed Bass’s reelection before throwing her hat in at the last minute, came off as inexperienced, touchy and unprepared.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Raman for comment.
Arellano added that the ‘line of the night’ came from Pratt, when he dismissed Raman as a ‘random council member.’
He said the line is: ‘How the LA political world responded to her entry into the race’ and stands in stark contrast to Pratt’s ‘boisterous bro’ image on the debate stage.
Pratt has launched his campaign around Bass’s alleged mismanagement of the Palisades fires, which burned down the $3.8 million home he shared with wife Heidi Montag.
Last month, reports said internal polling for Bass warned that the reality TV star is her biggest threat in the race.
An email by the Bass campaign advisor Douglas Herman stated that the campaign’s internal pollster, Binder Research, currently shows Pratt in the position to challenge Bass if the election goes to a runoff in November, according to TMZ.
If Bass were to lose her re-election, she would become the first Los Angeles mayor to be voted out of office since 2005.
