Spencer Pratt seemed to concede the race for Los Angeles mayor in a social media video on Friday, saying that the campaign portion of his efforts to “save” the city were coming to a close.
Mr. Pratt, a Republican who once starred on reality TV, finished third in the primary, receiving about a quarter of the vote. Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles and Councilwoman Nithya Raman, both Democrats, will advance to a runoff in November, The Associated Press determined this week.
For days, President Trump had cited Mr. Pratt’s loss as a prime indication of voter fraud in Los Angeles, without offering evidence. Mr. Trump questioned how it was possible for Mr. Pratt to have been in second place in the returns on election night only to slip to third days later. California typically takes longer than most states to count ballots, and it was deluged this election with mail ballots from last-minute voters.
It was notable that Mr. Pratt, in his video, signaled the imminent end of his campaign and never said he would challenge the results.
Mr. Pratt did not, however, seem ready to end his attacks on Ms. Bass and Ms. Raman, who he said left voters a choice between “dumb and dumber.” His video, which runs just over three minutes, is replete with insults, angry dialogue and quick video cuts of dystopian images, all against a discordant audio track.
“I didn’t get in this for political power, I got in this to expose this corrupt machine, and nothing’s changed,” he said. “I don’t have a campaign laws hamstringing me now. It’s war.”
Mr. Pratt vowed to continue to fight the two candidates, and suggested that he had a leaked recording that would make one of them “resign in shame.”
Ms. Raman’s campaign and Ms. Bass’s campaign had no comment.
In a news conference this week, Ms. Raman, who received 29 percent of the vote compared with 34 percent for Ms. Bass, seemed to try to appeal to people who had supported Mr. Pratt and welcome them into her camp. She said she understood the voters upset about life in Los Angeles.
“People in this city are frustrated with the conditions on our streets,” she said, “and they can feel the absence of leadership here.”
Ms. Raman hoped to tap into that frustration and described herself as the “change” candidate that many voters had sought in Mr. Pratt. Ms. Bass, on the other hand, she said, was the protector of the status quo who counted on the backing of the city’s “political machine.”
“In the primary, an overwhelming majority of voters voted for new leadership instead of the status quo,” Ms. Raman said. “Angelenos are hungry for change. So am I.”
Nonetheless, it may be difficult for Ms. Raman to appeal to Mr. Pratt’s voters. She is a progressive Democrat who ran to the left of Ms. Bass, while Mr. Pratt is a Republican who sought conservative and moderate support and was Mr. Trump’s favored candidate.
Orlando Mayorquín and Jill Cowan contributed reporting from Los Angeles.
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