Bass Leads LA Mayoral Poll as Pratt Rises

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass maintains a lead in the race for reelection, but reality television personality Spencer Pratt has surged into second place, according to a recent survey of likely voters. The poll, conducted by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs from March 15 to 29 among 813 respondents, shows Bass with 25 percent support, Pratt at 11 percent and City Councilmember Nithya Raman at 9 percent. Housing advocate Rae Chen Huang and nonprofit executive Adam Miller each received 3 percent, while 9 percent backed another candidate and 40 percent remained undecided. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The survey highlights an unusually high level of voter indecision just two months before the June 2 primary, in which 14 candidates are competing. Under Los Angeles' nonpartisan system, if no one secures a majority, the top two vote-getters will advance to a November 3 runoff. Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin and a former city councilman, described the race as wide open. "It is unusual for 40 percent of likely voters to be unsure of their choice just two months before an L.A. mayoralty election," Yaroslavsky...