Spencer Pratt slammed Governor Gavin Newsom’s eleventh-hour endorsement of Karen Bass, accusing both officials of catastrophic mismanagement and corruption while pitching Republican challengers as the real alternative for voters.
Spencer Pratt, running for Los Angeles mayor, went on the attack after Governor Gavin Newsom announced his late endorsement of Karen Bass just days before the mayoral primary. Pratt said the timing underscored a political establishment trying to prop up the status quo instead of facing accountability. His comments framed the endorsement as one more sign of collusion among career politicians who have failed Californians.
Pratt accused Bass and Newsom of negligent leadership that has left communities exposed to disaster and decay. He named specific failures: alleged money laundering, weak fire prevention policies, bungled recovery efforts, and a homelessness crisis that has worsened despite promises of improvement.
“It’s not shocking because their alleged criminal partners, not only did they work together in their negligence and burning down 7,000 houses and 12 people alive, but they’re both complicit in laundering, what, 24 billion dollars to actually increase homelessness,” Pratt said. “Newsom and Karen Bass make up stats. Those are not real numbers. Anybody with eyeballs in the state of California or Los Angeles knows that there has not been a reduction in one homeless person. Actually, there’s been an increase of naked drug addict zombies in front of every kid’s playground, every kid’s school, every coffee shop.”
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“They both should be in jail together,” he added. That blunt line landed as part of a broader Republican critique that accuses career Democrats of governing for insiders rather than residents. For Pratt and his allies, the endorsement from Newsom confirmed a belief that Democrats will close ranks to protect their own regardless of results on the ground.
Newsom’s statement in support of Bass praised several metrics, saying, “The work Karen Bass is doing in Los Angeles is making our entire state stronger, with an 18 percent decline in homelessness while it grew nationally, historic drops in violent crime, boosting film production in L.A., and protecting our communities against ICE. She has my full support for reelection.” Those numbers and claims are exactly what Pratt and other critics say feel disconnected from the lived reality of many Angelenos.
The timing of the endorsement — five days before the primary — rubbed many the wrong way and sparked questions about why Newsom waited so long to intervene in a major city race. That delay also highlights a pattern where statewide leaders parachute into local contests at the last minute to bend outcomes toward establishment favorites. Conservatives argue this kind of intervention entrenches one-party rule and robs voters of genuine choice.
Republicans have been sharpening their message in California, pushing against Democratic control at both state and local levels. In Los Angeles, Pratt is running a campaign framed around accountability, public safety, and a crackdown on corruption and mismanagement. At the same time, in the governor’s race, Steve Hilton has gained momentum and the backing of national figures, including a public endorsement from former President Donald Trump, which conservatives say shows a real opening to challenge the state machine.
Political observers on the right expect both Pratt and Hilton to advance out of their primaries, setting up competitive general election matchups that could force Democrats to defend years of policy choices. For Republicans in California, these races are less about personalities and more about offering voters an alternative to policies that critics blame for rising homelessness, public-safety issues, and economic strain.
Whatever happens at the ballot box, Pratt’s reaction to Newsom’s endorsement is a snapshot of a larger conservative strategy: spotlight failures, amplify contrasting data and eyewitness accounts, and build momentum for challengers who promise reform. The back-and-forth over facts and figures will now play out on the campaign trail and in debates as voters weigh which version of Los Angeles they trust more to lead the city forward.
