The next Los Angeles mayoral debate has been canceled after Nithya Raman and Karen Bass pulled out, along with Spencer Pratt.
The event had been scheduled for Wednesday, but debate organizers announced on Monday that the event will be canceled due to the absence of all three major candidates, per the New York Post. Reality star Spencer Pratt first pulled out due to a scheduling conflict before Bass announced that she would be traveling to Sacramento to seek funds for combatting the homeless crisis and for the wildfire rebuilding efforts. On Monday, Raman’s campaign revealed she would also not be attending.
“We’re disappointed that Mayor Bass cancelled her participation in the debate. We welcome opportunities for debates with all the candidates in the future,” Raman’s campaign said.
Only two candidates — businessman Adam Miller and activist Rae Huang — were still scheduled to attend.
“With only two candidates remaining, the event partners have agreed not to proceed,” said a spokesman for the Pat Brown Institute and the League of Women Voters.
Bass pulled out following last week’s debate, in which analysts said Pratt outperformed expectations while Bass and Raman floundered.
“With no governing experience and a résumé built in reality television, Pratt, the lone Republican in the race, needed to prove during last night’s LA mayoral debate at the Skirball Cultural Center that he could do more than churn out AI generated social media clips and lob insults at his opponents,” noted Vanity Fair.
“And for stretches of the night, he cleared that bar simply by sounding articulate. ‘I’m the adult in the room,’ Pratt said. ‘This is what it’s come to.’ An informal online poll conducted by NBC4-LA showed that 89% of respondents thought that Pratt won the debate,” it added.
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