Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt raised nearly 10 times more in contributions than Mayor Karen Bass in the latest campaign finance reporting period, new statements show.
Pratt reported raising $2.72 million between April 19 and May 16, the statements show, compared with $283,000 for Bass.
Pratt, the former reality TV star, reported a total of $3.26 million in contributions, edging him ahead of Bass with $3.13 million.
Councilmember Nithya Raman reported a total of more than $931,000 through the May 16 filing period, and nearly $401,000 since April 19. Of that haul, $60,000 came in the form of a loan from Raman to her campaign.
Pratt’s strong showing in contributions indicate he has a good chance of garnering enough votes in the June 2 primary to make a November runoff, said Mike Murphy, a longtime political consultant and former chief advisor to Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Opinion polls show Bass leading the race, but not by a big enough margin to avoid a runoff. If no candidate wins a majority next month, the top two vote-getters will face off in the Nov. 3 general election. Pratt is in a close race for second place with Raman, polls show.
Raman’s team used their donations to secure $1.26 million in public matching funds, receiving the maximum amount possible. Bass secured $1 million in public matching funds.
Another candidate, tech entrepreneur Adam Miller, reported about $276,000 in contributions and $4 million in loans he made to his campaign. Miller trails far behind the leading candidates in opinion polls.
In other citywide races, City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto has raised about $864,000 for her reelection campaign. Marissa Roy, a state deputy attorney general who is endorsed by the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, raised nearly $682,000, campaign finance reports show.
The filings show City Controller Kenneth Mejia has a far smaller war chest than challenger Zach Sokoloff, who is on sabbatical from his role as a senior vice president at Hackman Capital Partners. Mejia has brought in less than $150,000 in direct contributions, while Sokoloff has raised more than $1 million in direct contributions from candidate committees through the latest filing period. Mejia’s team used their donations to secure more than $400,000 in public matching funds.
Outside of campaign committees, Sokoloff’s mother, Sheryl, has contributed $5 million to her son’s campaign as an independent expenditure since May 7.
Among mayoral candidates, Bass’s campaign has spent the most on the race so far, $3.66 million, outpacing Miller at $3.18 million. Pratt reported $2.39 million in expenditures and Raman $1.52 million in spending.
Community organizer Rae Huang’s campaign has raised the fourth-most money so far, at more than $308,000, followed by that of longtime L.A. city engineer Asaad Alnajjar, who has netted about $142,000 in contributions.
Pratt’s campaign has slightly more money left to spend on the race than the other leading candidates, at $1.42 million, versus Bass’ approximately $1.32 million, Miller’s nearly $1.3 million and Raman’s $1 million.
Murphy questioned the Pratt campaign having so much money on hand, as voters have already begun sending ballots in by mail.
“If he takes a million bucks of that money or a million-five and spends it on media, digital, TV, cable, even some linear TV, I think that could give him a real edge to get into a runoff with Bass,” Murphy said. “But I’m curious why he hasn’t done that a week ago, because the clock is ticking.”
Pratt has spent at least $500,000 on digital advertising and billboards, according to his latest expense filings.
Pratt’s fame as a reality star — and support from fellow Republicans including a signal of support from President Trump — attracted donations from supporters across L.A. County and across the U.S. His campaign reported more than $671,000 in unitemized contributions of less than $100 each since April 19, versus less than $24,000 for Raman and less than $2,900 of the small donations for Bass.
The campaigns for Pratt and Bass — who both benefit from national name recognition — have attracted the most non-California contributions of the candidates, with each bringing in about $940,000 of the $2.26 million the race has seen flow in from donors in other states.
Raman has raised about $197,000 from other states. The campaign finance reports don’t show where unitemized donations came from, so it is unclear where that pot of money — of which Pratt’s is far bigger than his opponents’ — came from.
Overall, 67% of Pratt’s donors listed addresses in California, versus 84% of Bass’ donors and 86% of contributors to Raman’s campaign. Bass has received the most from L.A. County residents with at least $2.29 million, followed by Pratt with at least $1.1 million and Raman with more than $731,000.
Murphy said that while Pratt’s fundraising numbers are strong, it remains to be seen if he can garner enough support to ultimately win election as mayor. Although the race is nonpartisan, Pratt is a registered Republican in a city that is overwhelmingly Democratic.
“The Pratt hype might be bigger than the Pratt support with voters in the city of L.A.,” Murphy said.
Times staff writers Sandra McDonald, Melissa Gomez and David Zahniser contributed to this story.
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