Spencer Pratt loss latest sign big, blue cities won’t change left-wing course
Cherry-Picked Election Examples
How They Deceive You
Propaganda
Notable spin via selective framing of election results to support a predetermined narrative of unchanging left-wing dominance.
Main Device
Cherry-Picked Election Examples
Highlights progressive wins in select cities while dismissing counterexamples like San Francisco's Lurie victory as outliers without supporting data.
Archetype
Conservative critic of progressive city governance
Views big blue cities as locked into failed left-wing experiments and interprets any mixed election results as proof of no course correction.
Cherry-picks progressive wins across cities and brands counterexamples outliers to claim blue cities are locked into left-wing policies.
Writer's Worldview
“Conservative critic of progressive city governance”
2 findings
What is your news hiding from you?
Same analysis. Any article. Completely free.
Narrative Analysis
The Washington Examiner article accurately reports the election results in Los Angeles and several other cities but applies selective framing to portray an unbroken pattern of progressive dominance.
Key findings
- Selective framing of voter behavior: The piece states that Spencer Pratt's third-place finish fits "a national pattern of city residents expressing disenchantment with progressive governance but then voting for it to continue." It groups the Los Angeles outcome with Chicago's election of Brandon Johnson over Paul Vallas, New York City's choice of Zohran Mamdani, and Michelle Wu's reelection in Boston. This construction treats the results as evidence of locked-in left-wing governance.
- Cherry-picking of examples: The article identifies San Francisco's election of Daniel Lurie as "the big outlier" and notes that Lurie's San Francisco and Karen Bass's Los Angeles "have since gone in opposite directions on major quality-of-life metrics," yet supplies no specific data on crime, homelessness, or housing figures to support the contrast. It mentions Karen Bass defeating Rick Caruso 54.8% to 45.2% but does not quantify turnout or margin trends across cycles.
- Omission of counterexamples within the same cities: The text references Lori Lightfoot's defeat in Chicago and Eric Adams's primary loss in New York but does not examine whether those earlier rejections produced measurable policy shifts before the subsequent progressive victories.
What verifiable facts are missing
No concrete omissions of election vote totals, candidate backgrounds, or documented policy outcomes appear in the provided text. The article sticks to reported results from the cited races.
Author and outlet context
W. James Antle III serves as executive editor of the Washington Examiner. His prior roles include managing editor at the Daily Caller and positions at the American Spectator and American Conservative. The Examiner is owned by Clarity Media Group and maintains an editorial line critical of expansive government programs.
Bottom line
The article correctly records the vote outcomes in Los Angeles and peer cities. Its interpretive claim rests on the selection of progressive victories while labeling contrary results as outliers, without additional quantitative support for the quality-of-life comparison. This approach produces a consistent but narrowly drawn conclusion from the available election data.
Further Reading
No additional coverage comparisons were available for this analysis.
Neutral Rewrite
Here's how this article reads with loaded language removed and missing context included.
Los Angeles Mayoral Primary Advances Bass and Raman to November Runoff
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was elected in 2022 after defeating developer Rick Caruso in the general election, receiving 54.8% of the vote to Caruso’s 45.2%. In the 2026 primary, former reality television personality Spencer Pratt placed third and did not advance. Progressive City Council member Nithya Raman finished second and will face Bass in November.
In Chicago, voters defeated incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the 2023 primary, the first such loss for an incumbent in 40 years. In the runoff, former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas lost to Brandon Johnson, who took office that year.
New York City voters did not renominate Mayor Eric Adams in the 2025 Democratic primary. Adams had left the Democratic Party and ran as an independent. State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the primary and won the general election.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu won reelection in 2025 with more than 90% of the vote after facing limited opposition.
In Washington, D.C., the 2026 mayoral race remains open. Incumbent Muriel Bowser has maintained working relations with federal officials during the current presidential administration. Several candidates positioning to her left have entered the contest.
San Francisco voters elected Daniel Lurie mayor in 2024, defeating incumbent London Breed. Lurie campaigned on changes to policies addressing homelessness and drug overdoses. Subsequent city data showed differing trends between San Francisco and Los Angeles on certain public safety and housing indicators during 2025.
Vote tabulation in the Los Angeles primary extended over multiple days. Early returns showed Pratt in second place before Raman overtook him. Final certified results placed Bass first and Raman second. Pratt received a share of the vote comparable to the percentage received by Donald Trump in Los Angeles County during the 2024 presidential election.
Pratt’s campaign emphasized issues of crime, drug use, homelessness, and city management. His advertisements and debate appearances received online attention. Many voters in the gubernatorial primary delayed decisions until late in the process.
Los Angeles last elected a Republican mayor, Richard Riordan, in 1993. New York City elected Rudy Giuliani the same year. Both served two terms. Those elections occurred during a national midterm cycle that produced a Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The 2026 Los Angeles contest will be decided in the November general election between Bass and Raman.
Investigation Log · 29 steps
Starting investigation...
Investigating Washington Examiner
Investigating W. James Antle III
Searching for "Spencer Pratt LA mayoral election results 2026"
Verify the outcome and vote details for Spencer Pratt in LA mayor race.
Searching for "Zohran Mamdani New York City mayor election"
Check if Zohran Mamdani was elected NYC mayor and details.
Source: Washington Examiner
The Washington Examiner operates as a website and weekly print magazine focused on national politics. It is owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz through MediaDC, a subsidiary of Clarity Media Group. Wikipedia states it shifted in 2013 from a local daily newspaper to a national conservative publication with a circulation of 90,000 as of 2021.
Source: W. James Antle III
W. James Antle III (also known as Jim Antle) is executive editor of the Washington Examiner. He previously served as managing editor of the Daily Caller, politics editor at the Washington Examiner, associate editor of the American Spectator, and senior writer for the American Conservative. He is the author of the 2013 book Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?
Searching for "Rick Caruso vs Karen Bass 2022 LA mayor election results"
Verify historical comparison mentioned.
Searching for "Trump vote share Los Angeles 2024 election"
Check if Pratt's share matches Trump's.
Searching for "Daniel Lurie San Francisco mayor outcomes vs London Breed"
Verify SF contrast claimed.
Framing
Frames Pratt's third-place finish and Raman advancing as proof "big, blue cities won’t change left-wing course," grouping it with other cities electing progressives while omitting broader context of voter dissatisfaction metrics.
Creates impression of immutable progressive dominance rather than mixed results where some cities (SF) shifted centrist.
Cherry-Picking
Selects examples of progressive wins (Johnson, Mamdani, Wu, Raman) while treating SF's Lurie election as "outlier" and noting opposite directions on metrics without data.
Supports thesis by emphasizing continuity over counterexamples of change.
Writing analysis narrative
Writing verdict summary
Analysis narrative ready
Writing neutral rewrite
Investigation complete. Preparing report...
Neutral rewrite ready
**Investigation complete.** The Washington Examiner (conservative outlet owned by Philip Anschutz) and author W. James Antle III (longtime conservative editor) produced an analysis piece that accurately cites verifiable election results but frames them to support a predetermined narrative. **Key verified facts:** - LA 2026 primary: Bass ~34%, Raman ~29%, Pratt ~26% (Raman advanced). - 2022 Bass vs. Caruso runoff: Bass 54.8%, Caruso 45.2%. - NYC: Zohran Mamdani elected mayor 2025. - SF: Daniel Lurie defeated London Breed in 2024. **Findings recorded:** Two instances of cherry-picking and framing that emphasize "no change" while downplaying counterexamples like San Francisco. **Verdict:** C (Cherry-Picked Election Examples). The piece is a standard conservative critique of progressive city governance rather than neutral reporting. Report submitted.
The Compass
You see how this outlet sees the world.
How do you see it? Find your political shape in a few minutes.
Take the testOr check your own article