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Many conservatives across the country were tuned into Republican candidate Spencer Pratt’s audacious, underdog run against incumbent L.A. Mayor Karen Bass (D) — but few know about the “creative genius” behind Pratt’s wildly popular social media campaign.On a recent episode of “Rufo & Lomez,” Pratt’s creative director Gabriel Mann joined the program to pull back the curtain on the raw, grassroots operation that terrified the L.A. political establishment: zero consultants, lightning-fast video production, paid ballot harvesting in South L.A., explosive fraud allegations, and the Hollywood machine that blacklists conservatives while protecting its own. Mann tells the hosts that unlike the scripted, consultant-heavy world of modern politics, Pratt’s operation ran with zero political advisers.“I know a lot of people try to portray their campaign as grassroots, but I mean this was legitimately grassroots. ... It was an experiment in completely upending the traditional politico paradigm, so we didn't have any political advisers. It was just me and Spencer,” he tells hosts Christopher Rufo and Jonathan Keeperman.This bare-bones team streamlined the video production process, expediting response ads.“[Pratt’s opponents] were trying to attack him for not physically living in the Airstream even though that's a sniper's wet dream, so like his security would not let him be on the lot, but people were attacking him saying, ‘Oh, he's bougie. He's living in Santa Barbara,”’ Mann recalls.“We decided to just immediately attack right back, and so we made this 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' video ... to turn the energy around because we didn't have any political advisers telling us, ‘Oh, we should focus group this,’ ‘Oh, you shouldn't say that.’ ... ‘Your tone should be like this,”’ he adds. “All we had was Spencer with his instincts and a filmmaker, not a political guy.”One of the most eye-opening revelations, however, was Mann’s description of how the campaign built its own “ground game” in “hostile territory,” paying approximately $100,000 to Bloods and Crips members to perform ballot harvesting in South L.A. neighborhoods.He explains that because there is “literally no Republican infrastructure in Los Angeles,” they had to get creative in how they reached voters.“I'm not joking, like totally above board, totally legal, we paid the Bloods and the Crips to go do ballot harvesting for us in their neighborhoods, and that was the one thing that Spencer did that I think shocked a lot of people,” he tells Rufo and Keeperman.Mann also pulled back the curtain on Hollywood’s ruthless political machine. While the industry famously protects its own, it blacklists conservatives without mercy. He recounted a crew member being fired on the spot simply for giving Spencer a tour of a "Baywatch" set.“We’re with Bass. The union is supporting Bass,” was the explanation. Yet behind the scenes, some of the biggest names in entertainment were quietly rooting for Pratt. Mann revealed, “You have no idea how many ... but [they] wouldn’t allow us to trot them out in public.”Yet perhaps most explosive were the questions surrounding the final vote count itself. On election night, Pratt was neck-and-neck with incumbent Karen Bass and leading democrat socialist Nithya Raman as expected. But in the days that followed, as late mail-in ballots poured in, Raman overcame a roughly 40,000-vote deficit — a stunning net swing of more than 43,000 votes that flipped the race.“They try to explain it away like, ‘Oh well, Democrats vote late. They vote by mail.’ OK, but just for the one third place candidate? There were two Democrats in the race, so why is it only for the third place candidate, the one person who actually needed the votes?” says Mann, “And the thing is the media will always say that, ‘Oh, there's no evidence of fraud.’ That is evidence.”“Now evidence is not the same as proof, but a statistical anomaly like that, you ask any forensic auditor they'll tell you yeah that is evidence of fraud, and it needs to be investigated, and so Spencer has been doing this by the books. He's been collecting evidence,” he continues, noting that they’ve built a case with this evidence and have shared it with law enforcement.For the full, unfiltered conversation and all the behind-the-scenes details, watch the complete episode above.Want more from Rufo & Lomez?To enjoy more of the news through the anthropological lens of Christopher Rufo and Lomez, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

The United States has by far the most data centers of any country in the world, but that growth will slow for least some time in New York state.New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) weighed in on one of the most controversial topics of the modern tech era this week, saying data centers create a high degree of uncertainty for her constituents.'New York will lead the way.'Hochul signed an executive order on Tuesday, making her position on the current status of data centers clear."As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it's my responsibility to take action and lead," the governor said, per Politico.Hochul and New York will block the construction of any new large data centers for up to one year, which, as reported by Reuters, is classified as any data center using 50 megawatts or more of power.The purpose is to allow New York state to create the framework surrounding environmental and energy regulation in relation to the data centers."New York will lead the way in creating the strongest standards in the nation for data center development, ensuring that when companies succeed because of New York, New Yorkers succeed too," Hochul added.RELATED: US company will use Chinese humanoid robots at Michigan data center Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images At the same time, the state will develop a "community investment framework" that has the stated intention of helping local communities access "economic benefits" that mitigate "potential negative effects" of new data centers.The framework would create an investment fund that data center developers would put money into to help pay for energy costs and public services. In addition, the data center developers would have to allow labor unions to weigh in on construction, local hiring, and workforce development.Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, Hochul's Republican counterpart in the gubernatorial election, opposes the statewide moratorium. The Associated Press reported that Blakeman said local governments should be allowed to make deals with companies on their own accord if the projects promise sufficient economic benefits.RELATED: Cattle rancher battles Amazon data center accused of poisoning water supply, causing miscarriages Mario Tama/Getty Images New York has seen significant resistance to data centers in areas like Rockland County, where residents packed the town hall to the rafters in opposition to DataBank's Orangeburg Campus, which is about 25 miles north of Manhattan.The United States leads the world in data centers, with over 4,400, according to Statista. The second-highest nation is the United Kingdom with over 550, then Germany with more than 520.However, Cleanview reports there are only about 1,200 operating data centers in the United States, with another 1,700 planned, bringing the total of current and future sites to just under 3,000.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The fallout from the Epstein files continues to shake the upper echelons of society as one of the world's richest men made a surprise change of plans.The Wall Street Journal reported that Warren Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, has delayed his usual mid-year donation to the Gates Foundation pending an investigation into the foundation's connections with Jeffrey Epstein.'Of course, mortality is unpredictable, but my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by December 31, 2034.'Buffett, 95, announced on Tuesday that he intends to continue disposing of his Berkshire Hathaway fortune by way of donating shares to foundations associated with his family. He made no mention of the Gates Foundation, to which he has historically donated large sums of shares around this time of the year. In 2025, for example, a similar announcement shows a donation of 9,000,000 shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This marks a significant change in the destinations of Buffett's remaining shares. This year, 9,000,000 shares are intended for the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and 1,000,000 shares each are intended for the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the Novo Foundation. A spokesperson for the Gates Foundation gave Blaze News the following statement on Tuesday:"The Gates Foundation is grateful to Warren Buffett for his decades of support for our work. His gifts, totaling more than $47 billion, have helped us expand and deliver on the foundation’s mission to improve health and opportunity for people around the world. The foundation continues from a position of financial strength to advance our work through 2045, supported by Bill's $200 billion commitment."RELATED: Bill Gates 'voluntarily' explains his Epstein ties to Congress Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesAccording to the statement, Buffett is seeking to donate his remaining shares by the end of 2034, noting that his "children are unfortunately growing older.""Of course," he continued, "mortality is unpredictable, but my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by December 31, 2034. The goal is to have the grants grow annually to each of the three foundations managed by each of my children and the annual grant to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation grow at a somewhat greater rate."Warren Buffett announced his plan to give away his vast fortune in 2006. Since then, he has given annual donations to the Gates Foundation. Buffett has been a longtime friend of Bill Gates, though in 2024, Buffett announced that he would cut off donations to the Gates Foundation following his death. This development speeds up that decision, unless he resumes donations following the conclusion of an investigation. The Associated Press reported that Buffett said that he hadn't spoken to Gates for months prior to the release of the Epstein files in the fall of 2025. He told CNBC that he was amazed by the number of rich and powerful people pulled into the Epstein scandal: “I mean, it, here you had a guy that was a convicted guy, a sensational con man, and the percentage of people that he knocked off,” Buffett said. “I mean, whether it was, he found their weakness. It might have been sex. It might be power, it might be, whatever it might be. And I don’t see how anybody could have pulled that off.”In April, the Gates Foundation announced the beginning of an investigation into its connections with Epstein as it assesses future giving. The foundation expects to receive an update this summer.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Outrage over damaging scandals eventually forced Graham Platner out of the pivotal Senate race in Maine, but at least two media companies allegedly helped Democrats bury those stories.A media survey indicated that Google News and Apple suppressed stories detailing the allegations made against the failed candidate.'Millions of smartphone users were denied the truth while Platner was politically useful and finally allowed to see it once he wasn't.'Between Nov. 2025 and May 2026, neither news outlet published stories damaging to the Democrat's campaign, according to the Media Research Center study. These included the Nazi-like tattoo he obtained as well as offensive posts on the Reddit online platform.The final straw came when Platner was accused of sexual assault by a former girlfriend. He denied the allegations but suspended his campaign regardless.The MRC report found that the tech platforms ignored at least 112 stories from conservative-leaning news outlets documenting Platner's transgressions."For months, while Platner looked like the one Democrat who could beat Susan Collins, the two most powerful news apps in America buried scandal after scandal," MRC President David Bozell said. "Then the polls turned, Platner became a liability, and suddenly the blackout ended. News judgment had nothing to do with it." "Millions of smartphone users were denied the truth while Platner was politically useful and finally allowed to see it once he wasn't," he added.Google has denied the allegations."These claims are totally false and based on a completely flawed methodology," a spokesperson said to Fox News Digital. "The study checked Google News once a day from a single account, ignoring the fact that Google News automatically updates throughout the day, and shows news personalized to your interests and location. You can also easily select sources you want to see more often in News and Search."Bozell shot back and defended the MRC findings: "Google wants us to believe that checking their platform once a day missed the magic window where they actually allowed negative news about Graham Platner to exist. That is an insult to the intelligence of every consumer and investor."Apple has not responded to requests for comment about the report.RELATED: Donna Brazile gets CRUSHED online over bizarre reply to allegations against Graham Platner Democrats now have to choose Platner's replacement in hopes of unseating incumbent Maine Sen. Susan Collins (R) and gaining another seat in their quest to retake the Senate.Recent polling shows that Collins is tied with three possible candidates to replace Platner in the race. The same survey found that two-thirds of respondents wanted Platner to drop out of the race.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!