Spencer Pratt’s tenure in Santa Barbara County likely won’t affect his bid for LA Mayor, analysts say.
Living outside the community they want to represent can be a handicap for political candidates, but it won’t be a problem for Los Angeles Mayor Spencer Pratt, who until recently lived in Carpinteria in Santa Barbara County, analysts said.
That’s because Pratt’s home burned down in the January 2025 Palisades fire, making him a sympathetic figure for many voters — especially those who live in his Westside neighborhood, they say.
“I don’t think this is going to be an election result,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, a former Los Angeles County executive and LA City Council member who now heads the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. “He is a victim of the Palisades fire who has no home because he burned down.
Pratt filed to run for mayor in February and was second behind Mayor Karen Bass in the recent Luskin school election. He was approved by the Los Angeles city clerk on March 2 as one of the 14 candidates for the June 2 primary election.
While some observers raised questions about his eligibility, a federal memorandum following the fires said voters who were temporarily displaced from their homes could use their previous addresses as their permanent residence as long as they “intended to return” in the future.
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt currently resides in a private community in Carpinteria, California.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Michael Sanchez, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, said this also applies to candidates.
“In cases where a candidate is temporarily displaced (such as the 2025 wildfires), their eligibility to run for office is not affected, as long as they retain their seat in their district,” Sanchez said in a statement.
He explained that a place of residence is determined by a person’s original place of residence and their intention to return to that place. “Temporary displacement during reconstruction or recovery does not merely change one’s place of residence.”
The Times asked the LA city clerk’s office last week about Pratt’s residency and eligibility.
“We cannot comment on a candidate’s address details due to confidentiality. Any issue affecting a candidate’s eligibility or residency, such as this case, can be legally challenged in court,” said Joshua Marcus, a spokesman for the city clerk’s office.
Any challenge to Pratt’s eligibility based on residency could open the question of whether he was willing to return, said Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University. “Those are difficult questions because they depend on the state of a person’s mind,” he said.
Pratt and his campaign aides did not respond to requests for comment. Pratt released a video on Monday, following questions from The Times, defending his decision to move to Carpinteria but said he now intends to stay in the trailer parked at his Pacific Palisades estate.
The city of Los Angeles is in the heart of a city of about 500 square miles, creating obstacles if there is no candidate for citywide office in a remote area, noted Democratic Alliance political consultant Mike Trujillo.
“Anyone who has made the trip from San Pedro to Sylmar knows that LA is a big place,” said Trujillo, who is not affiliated with any of the candidates in the June 2 primary. “Adding another hour and a half to the drive doesn’t help when you’re trying to campaign in every corner of the city.”
Pratt, a former reality TV star, has millions of followers on social media, but Trujillo said Pratt will need to demonstrate a strong public presence to mount a successful campaign.
Pratt is a Republican running in a city with a majority of Democrats. Developer Geoffrey H. Palmer, a major campaign donor to President Trump, plans to host a reception for Pratt at his home in Beverly Hills on April 28, according to a filing the Pratt campaign filed with the city’s Ethics Commission.
The event is being organized by Trey Kozacik, who also organized Trump’s 2019 Los Angeles fundraiser.
A UCLA Luskin poll released this month showed Pratt with the support of about 11% of voters, trailing Bass at 25% and ahead of City Council member Nithya Raman at 9%.
Mayoral candidate Adam Miller, who received 3% in the poll, said being part of Pratt’s party was his biggest obstacle to winning the mayoral race.
“I sympathize with Spencer about losing his house and feeling angry at the city, but he’s not the right candidate. It doesn’t matter where he lives, a Republican hasn’t been elected mayor in 30 years in this city, and he’s not going to change that now,” said Miller, the technology executive.
Some say that joining a group is not a small thing.
“This is a nonpartisan race,” said Roxanne Hoge, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Republican Party. “There is no book that goes with anyone’s name. … I personally support him because he is one of the smart ones.”
Others think Pratt will appeal to other Democratic voters.
“There are people I talk to who I know are Democrats who really like him,” said Maryam Zar, who leads the Palisades Recovery Coalition. “As much as people are disappointed with this restoration, they are putting their hopes in Spencer.
