A labor union backed by one of the most powerful political forces in Los Angeles launched a six-figure digital assault against Republican mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt this week — and the blowback has been swift, widespread, and almost entirely pointed in the wrong direction.
Los Angeles Ethics Commission filings identify the funding source as an independent expenditure committee operating under the name “LA Unions Opposed to Spencer Pratt for Mayor 2026,” sponsored by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO as reported by Fox News..
Campaign finance records show the committee committed $221,000 to digital advertising aimed at sinking Pratt’s candidacy.
The ad pulls no punches from the opening frame. “Republican Spencer Pratt is the last thing Los Angeles needs for mayor,” the narrator declares.
From there, the ad proceeds to list Pratt’s offenses. It criticizes him for opposing taxpayer-funded construction of housing for homeless residents, for supporting a major expansion of police staffing, and for his position that public employee unions hold too much power over city government.
The ad closes with the line: “LA is on the right track and needs to stay the course. Vote no on Republican Spencer Pratt.”
Online, the message landed differently than its creators likely intended. Reaction spread rapidly across social media, with many users arguing the ad’s criticisms were more likely to resonate with frustrated Los Angeles voters than to alarm them.
One user on X responded: “This is supposed to be an attack ad??? Lolol.” Another wrote: “Wow even @UnrigLA is running ads supporting Spencer Pratt. This is such an incredible ad supporting Spencer Pratt!!!”
Pratt wasted no time capitalizing on the moment. He took the ad directly to his own social media followers, writing: “Wait. Unions are mad that I want firefighters and city workers to get better pay and safer working conditions? What are they actually…for?”
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas amplified the clip on X, writing simply: “This attack ad could well elect Pratt.”
The numbers may bear that out. Polling in Los Angeles County ranks homelessness as the top concern among voters, with 95% calling it the most serious issue facing the city.
Public safety follows at 62%. Union policy priorities did not register among the issues voters spontaneously raised — meaning fewer than 1% of voters list union-related concerns as a priority.
In effect, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor spent $221,000 spotlighting the precise issues where Pratt holds the strongest contrast against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.
Bass enters the final stretch of the race politically weakened. Her approval rating sits at 31%, leaving her 25 points underwater according to recent polling.
Bass faced sharp criticism for her handling of the Los Angeles wildfires, with Pratt repeatedly using that record against her on the campaign trail and on the debate stage.
Pratt launched his campaign on January 7, 2026, the one-year anniversary of the Palisades fire that leveled his family home alongside thousands of others.
He described his motivation in blunt terms: “I had to step up so that my sons one day can…come back here and live in the L.A. that I lived in — beautiful, safe. I’m standing in what happened because of failed politicians.”
Following a recent debate in which Pratt drew widespread notice for his performance, Bass withdrew from a separate televised debate that had been scheduled for Wednesday, according to KTLA.
An NBC4 online poll conducted after the debate found nearly 90% of respondents believed Pratt had won the exchange.
Pratt is currently polling in second place in the race. If he wins in November, he would become the first Republican mayor of Los Angeles since Richard Riordan left office in 2001.
The nonpartisan primary takes place June 2, 2026. If no candidate clears a majority, the top two finishers advance to a general election runoff on November 3, 2026.
