Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faces three well-funded opponents in the June 2 primary, with reality TV star Spencer Pratt and Councilwoman Nithya Raman leading the pack in fundraising.
Pratt, whose home was destroyed in the 2025 Palisades fire, has raised nearly $540,000 for his campaign since Jan. 1, according to figures reported this week to the city’s Ethics Commission.
Raman, who joined the race in February, brought in $530,000 in donations during the April 18 filing, mostly from writers, producers and others in the entertainment industry, city numbers show.
Bass reported taking in about $495,000 since the start of the year. He began fundraising for re-election in 2024, however, and already has nearly $2.3 million.
A fourth person, tech entrepreneur Adam Miller, reported lending his campaign $2.5 million. He also brought in about $200,000 in donations, reports show.
Miller is lagging far behind Bass, Raman and Pratt in public opinion polls, which also show that most voters are undecided.
Dan Schnur, a professor of politics at USC, UC Berkeley and Pepperdine University, said fundraising reports show the top three candidates are evenly matched in the final weeks of the campaign.
“There is no visible difference in the amount of money raised by the top three,” he said. “The fact that Bass did not raise more than those who challenged him as the incumbent must worry about his campaign.”
The numbers also show that Pratt has become a “legitimate candidate for the upper division,” Schnur said.
“It’s still difficult for him to win in the blue city, but he has the potential to have a big impact on the race,” he said.
The mayor’s race is nonpartisan, but city voters have generally chosen Democrats for the job.
Because Raman and Pratt entered the race late, they still trail Bass significantly when it comes to the amount raised. Since launching his re-election bid, Bass has brought in more than $2.8 million, records show.
When matching public funds are added, the mayor’s campaign has raised about $3.7 million. Raman has received nearly $612,000 in matching funds, bringing his total earnings to more than $1.1 million.
Money is far from the end of the mayoral race. In 2022, billionaire developer Rick Caruso used more than $100 million of his fortune to run for mayor, but lost to Bass by just under 10 percent.
However, the money raised by the mayoral candidates will be critical as they seek to purchase television advertising, social media ads and other campaign material.
If no candidate wins more than 50% in the June 2 primary, the top two vote-getters will advance to the November 3 general election.
Bass is running for a second four-year term as he seeks to overcome high disapproval ratings, with voters expressing dissatisfaction with his handling of housing, homelessness and other issues.
On Friday, Bass announced that he is spending more than $1 million on a new 30-second spot that will air on television and digital platforms. In the ad, he highlighted two consecutive years of reductions in street homelessness and talked about his determination to fight immigration.
At the same time, Bass acknowledged the dissatisfaction expressed by Angelenos.
“I’ve always misunderstood,” he said in an advertisement posted to YouTube. “There is a lot of work to be done.”
Most polls showed Bass slightly ahead of Raman and Pratt, who finished second and third.
More than a quarter of Angelenos were undecided last month, according to the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, sponsored by The Times. In that poll, Bass had 25% support, followed by Raman at 17% and Pratt at 14%.
Behind the top three contestants are Miller and community organizer Rev. Rae Huang. Miller, a primary candidate, has already launched a seven-figure ad campaign on billboards, television and social media as he works to increase his name recognition.
Huang, who has raised just over $165,000 as of Jan. 1, was running against Raman in the city’s left wing. That brings his total to about $273,000, records show.
Raman was twice elected to the council with the support of the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. He and Huang were both courted by the team, but did not receive their approval for June’s first grade.
Huang has received donations from several progressive political leaders, including attorney Erin Darling, who lost to Councilmember Traci Park in 2022, and small business owner Jillian Burgos, who lost to Councilmember Adrin Nazarian in 2024.
Raman’s fundraising has reflected his close ties to the television and film industries, with donations from “Saturday Night Live” star Colin Jost and “Bob’s Burgers” voice actor Dan Mintz among others. Both gave a whopping $1,800 to his campaign.
“More than 1,700 grassroots donors have powered our mayoral campaign to make LA an affordable city that works for everyone,” Raman said in a statement detailing his fundraising total.
Bass got money from other parts of Hollywood, raising $1,800 each from a political action committee representing the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and the Motion Picture Assn. Local PAC.
The mayor also drew donations from an array of Democratic state and federal elected officials, including US Attorneys. Judy Chu and Sydney Kamlager-Dove and County Council members Josh Lowenthal, José Luis Solache Jr. and John Harabedian. Trade unions representing the construction industry, the leisure industry and City Hall workers and the Department of Water and Power also gave it.
“We’re leading a grassroots campaign fueled by support from across the city for the changes Karen Bass is making in Los Angeles. That’s why she has broad support and is leading the way in fundraising,” said Bass campaign spokesman Alex Stack.
Pratt’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
His donors include donors from Pacific Palisades, where thousands of homes and his were destroyed in the 2025 wildfires.
On social media and elsewhere, Bass was happy with his handling of the tragedy and subsequent recovery.
In other citywide LA races, City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto led the pack of candidates, reporting to have raised nearly $830,000 during the campaign. Deputy Atty. Gen. Marissa Roy wasn’t far behind, taking home about $620,000.
District Deputy. He said. John McKinney raised about $73,000, and human rights lawyer Aida Ashuri earned about $14,000, Ethics Commission reports show.
In the city control race, real estate magnate Zach Sokoloff continued to outpace incumbent Kenneth Mejia in fundraising, raising nearly $510,000 by the April 18 filing deadline. Mejia took in just over $110,000.
Both of those figures were eclipsed by the $2.5 million that Sokoloff’s mother, Sheryl Sokoloff, gave to an independent spending committee that supports him.
That offer, reported earlier this week, was quickly rejected by Mejia, who told supporters Thursday that he was against “big money.”
“Los Angeles, our race just got real,” Mejia said in a social media post. “Someone in Montana plunked down $2.5 million to fire me. And another one – let me check – wow. My rival’s mother. Holy Crap. What would you do with $2.5 million?”
“No one has dropped this amount of money in the governor’s race,” he added. “This is wild.”
Times staff writer Melissa Gomez contributed to this report.
