Media Research Center President David Bozell joined Ray Stevens of the Ray Stevens Show on Wednesday morning to discuss how emerging technologies are changing the media landscape of local political races, with a focus on the recent Los Angeles mayoral primary.
As ballots continue to be tallied following the June 2, 2026, election, much of the media attention has focused on non-traditional candidate Spencer Pratt’s decision to bypass traditional media channels by utilizing AI to generate campaign advertisements. Bozell explained that social media and AI have made it much cheaper to run a campaign. Instead of hiring expensive production crews or buying television ads, candidates can now use a basic ChatGPT prompt to create digital ads for just the cost of a monthly subscription.
.@DavidBozell on how Spencer Pratt is using AI to fuel his campaign and break through the media noise pic.twitter.com/snsIo7KdsK
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) June 3, 2026
Drawing historical parallels to past national election cycles, including Donald Trump’s early dominance on Facebook in 2015 and Ted Cruz’s digital primary strategies, Bozell analyzed how sustained online visibility can alter traditional polling expectations.
Bozell added that despite a campaign's ability to cut through media noise online, digital strategies face significant hurdles when going up against traditional party infrastructures and established political organizations in a local runoff.
MRC's @DavidBozell gives his prediction on what will happen with Spencer Pratt in his uphill battle to become Mayor of LA pic.twitter.com/kePOjVUT1z
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) June 3, 2026
Ultimately, Bozell’s analysis highlights a permanent shift in how modern political campaigns operate. While consumer AI tools like ChatGPT allow outsider candidates to bypass traditional media gatekeepers on a budget, the final results in races like the Los Angeles mayoral election will show whether digital viral momentum can truly overcome established, ground-level political party operations.
Listen to the entire interview here:
