In LA, voter discontent and AI ads fuel an improbable mayoral candidacy
All that鈥檚 left of Adam Wolman鈥檚 house is a garden wall. Revisiting his old neighborhood near Los Angeles recently, the creative consultant and former TV executive pulled up to the spot where he lived for over 25 years. The house had just been through a two-year renovation when it burned to the ground in the Palisades Fire in January of last year. Now, it鈥檚 an empty lot.
Mr. Wolman鈥檚 story is similar to more than 13,000 others鈥� in Los Angeles County. They include Spencer Pratt, a former reality TV star who has channeled frustrations over the city鈥檚 fire prevention and rebuilding efforts, as well as problems like homelessness and drug addiction, into a surging dark-horse campaign for mayor of Los Angeles.
Mr. Pratt鈥檚 messaging 鈥� around Los Angeles鈥� decline and the political establishment鈥檚 alleged complicity 鈥� has been amplified by a series of provocative AI videos circulating on social media. Many of the videos, which are not official products of his campaign (though Mr. Pratt often reposts them), don鈥檛 focus on his proposed policies or his background, but instead lean in to storytelling.
Why We Wrote This
Los Angeles last had a Republican mayor 25 years ago. But reality TV star Spencer Pratt has seen a flurry of donations and support in the run-up to the June 2 vote, in a campaign shaped by last year鈥檚 Palisades Fire and a series of provocative AI videos.
One portrays the candidate as a Batman-like figure rescuing a burning, dystopian Los Angeles from a cabal of villains represented by LA Mayor Karen Bass (in Joker makeup), California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and former Vice President Kamala Harris. As the Democratic politicians enjoy a decadent meal in a Versailles-like setting, a man who looks like the actor Hugh Jackman pleads, 鈥淚 just want to rebuild my home. It鈥檚 been over a year.鈥� The politicians all laugh.
The unconventional videos, combined with Mr. Pratt鈥檚 own blunt-spoken style, appear to be catching on with at least some voters who鈥檝e grown weary of politics as usual and are looking to shake up the status quo. Recent polls show the Republican running behind Mayor Bass by anywhere from 14 to just 3 points in this heavily Democratic city. If no candidate surpasses 50% in the June 2 primary, which seems likely, he has a shot at being one of two who advance to November鈥檚 election. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a progressive Democrat, is also in contention in most polls.
Even if Mr. Pratt doesn鈥檛 win, strategists say his campaign has broken new ground 鈥� providing a clear example of how artificial intelligence can reshape political communication.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a watershed moment,鈥� says Crystal Patterson, a Democratic strategist who previously worked at Facebook. 鈥淭he LA mayor鈥檚 race is going to be a really good litmus test for what this kind of new frontier in digital means for voters and how they鈥檙e consuming information.鈥�
Experts have long worried that AI could wreak havoc on political campaigns, by amplifying disinformation and making it hard for voters to know what鈥檚 real and what鈥檚 fake. For now, those fears haven鈥檛 played out. Most of the pro-Pratt videos are obviously fake 鈥� and come across more as an edgy form of entertainment.
鈥淭he whole point is to drive attention and to drive conversation,鈥� says Scott Babwah Brennen, director of New York University鈥檚 Center on Technology Policy. Videos depicting candidates as characters from a movie franchise might not change many voters鈥� minds, he says, but it can create the kind of buzz that鈥檚 helpful for fundraising and mobilization. Indeed, Mr. Pratt is far outraising Ms. Bass and Ms. Raman, reporting a haul nearly 10 times that of the mayor鈥檚 in the last campaign finance reporting period.
Many of the AI videos have been shared by an X account under the name Charles Curran, a filmmaker who owns a studio in Los Angeles and in his own creative work. He and the Pratt campaign did not respond to interview requests.
Los Angeles last had a Republican mayor 25 years ago, when the share of Republican voters in the city was greater than it is now. After President Donald Trump recently said he heard that Mr. Pratt was 鈥渁 big MAGA person,鈥� both Ms. Bass鈥� and Ms. Raman鈥檚 campaigns have worked to link the two Republican reality TV stars-turned-politicians. Mr. Pratt has downplayed his party affiliation on the campaign trail, presumably recognizing that associating himself strongly with the GOP brand hurts more than it helps in Los Angeles.
The crux of the race, for all the candidates, is the aftermath of the fires. Mr. Pratt accuses Ms. Bass of poor leadership, which he says left the city unprepared for the wildfires that wiped out neighborhoods in 2025.
The mayor faced widespread criticism over her absence from the city while on a diplomatic trip to Ghana when the fires broke out. And a major reservoir in Los Angeles was empty, leaving firefighters without water in the early days. In the Pacific Palisades, the fire burned .
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know of anybody who says the mayor did a good job [handling] the fires,鈥� says Matt Klink, an LA-based Republican strategist. Criticism of the city鈥檚 response is part of the reason Mr. Pratt鈥檚 campaign is drawing so much attention, he says. 鈥淗e鈥檚 touching on something that everybody acknowledges is real.鈥�
Some of Mr. Pratt鈥檚 campaign ads feature him standing in front of an Airstream trailer. 鈥淭his is where I live. They let my home burn down,鈥� he says in one. (According to media reports, , at least some of the time, at the Hotel Bel-Air.)
Mr. Pratt has also criticized the city鈥檚 response to homelessness and drug addiction as wholly inadequate, vowing to crack down on encampments and open-air drug use. But even some fans question whether the political novice has the policy chops to lead America鈥檚 second-largest city through a term that will include the Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics.
鈥淐ampaigning and governing are two different things,鈥� says Mr. Klink, adding that Mr. Pratt is a 鈥渃lassic disrupter.鈥�
On the campaign trail, Ms. Bass has emphasized the steps she鈥檚 taken on some of the city鈥檚 most intractable problems. 鈥淪treet homelessness and crime are down. Affordable housing is up,鈥� says . 鈥淲e鈥檙e turning the page and making real progress after decades of inaction.鈥�
But it hasn鈥檛 been an easy sell: Polls show a majority of voters .
鈥淲e have a lot of people who are big fans of hers,鈥� says Mr. Wolman, who works as communications director for the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club, though he says he鈥檚 speaking as a constituent and not on behalf of the club, which has stayed neutral in the race. 鈥淏ut the fire was such a disaster on such an epic scale that people are upset.鈥�
鈥淓ven if she couldn鈥檛 have prevented it, there鈥檚 always a feeling that more could have been done,鈥� he says.
At the same time, Ms. Bass鈥� long record in public office might give some voters confidence. As a former state legislator and member of Congress, she is well connected across the state 鈥� and knows how to navigate political and policy circles.
Steve Cron was one in a group of Angelenos who lost homes in the Palisades Fire who went to lobby state legislators some months back on everything from recovery red tape to mortgage insurance. Ms. Bass, he says, helped lead the effort.
鈥淸The access] was all because she was behind it and wanted us to have that opportunity,鈥� says Mr. Cron, president of the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club. Like Mr. Wolman, Mr. Cron says he鈥檚 speaking for himself, not the club.
Mr. Cron says the city and agencies absolutely made mistakes before and during the fire. To a degree, he says, he can understand. 鈥淪ome amount of mistakes were within the realm of what can happen in a chaotic situation where nobody was quite prepared,鈥� he says.
In the end, he says, it won鈥檛 affect his vote.
鈥淚鈥檓 still supporting Mayor Bass,鈥� says Mr. Cron, who bought his home 18 years ago and was underinsured. After the fires, rebuilding was so costly that the members of his homeowners association agreed to sell to a developer, rather than rebuild.
鈥淎lthough I think she made some mistakes, I think she is the most qualified.鈥�
