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Spencer Pratt has his work cut out for him in LA

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Los Angeles may soon discover that viral politics is not the same thing as political success.

For months, Spencer Pratt’s mayoral run has been treated by much of the political establishment as a sideshow. The former reality television personality has flooded social media with highly produced viral videos featuring Batman themes, musical parodies, and celebrity-style editing. It is Internet-first messaging that looks nothing like a traditional municipal campaign.

And yet, as of a week out from the June 2 primary, Pratt may actually finish second and advance to a November runoff against Mayor Karen Bass.

That may sound improbable. But the numbers are starting to add up.

The key to understanding the LA mayoral race is recognizing that Pratt does not need to beat Bass in June. He only needs to beat socialist Councilwoman Nithya Raman.

That is a dramatically easier assignment.

Bass still appears headed for first place. The real battle is for second. And suddenly, Pratt has a lane.

An Emerson College poll that came out of the field about two weeks ago has Bass at just 30% — far below the threshold she needs to avoid a runoff.

Pratt sits at 22%, having more than doubled his support since March. Raman trails at 19. The sample size was small, and the results should be read accordingly — but Emerson is a reliable outfit.

Meanwhile, the two challengers are competing for the same finite pool of anti-Bass attention — but from opposite ideological directions.

Raman entered the race hoping to become the left-wing insurgent candidate. Instead,........

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