It appears Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón will not receive another term after voters came out in strong support of his challenger, Nathan Hochman.
The incumbent had been trailing through most of the campaign season, despite picking up key endorsements from the Los Angeles Times and the L.A. County Democratic Party.
Elected in 2020 riding a wave of shifting settlement regarding law enforcement violence and disparity between the way certain offenders were prosecuted and sentenced, Gascón’s apparent lone term as District Attorney will be among the most controversial, if not inconsequential, in recent memory.
Gascón bled support after taking office in large part due to his support of zero-bail policies, requiring all juveniles be tried in juvenile court and more lenient sentencing for non-violent crimes.
He was a regular target of conservative pundits, law enforcement officials and many of his own deputy district attorneys who blamed his policies for a rash of violent burglaries, increased thefts and other petty crimes that his office may have prosecuted less severely than his predecessor.
He survived two recall efforts, but his bid for another term seems to have fallen short.
On Tuesday, voters decided not to give Gascón’s progressive policies a longer runway to see if he could bring about the systemic changes he’d vowed to bring to L.A. County.
Instead, the new D.A. appears to be Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor who ran on a platform of “restoring safety and justice” to the County. Hochman’s biggest backers were conservatives, law enforcement unions and advocacy groups who clashed with Gascón from the offset, as well as moderates who soured on the changes brought about since 2020.
Hochman has described himself as a proponent of justice reform, but has voiced support in reversing many of the policies put in place by Gascón.
Hochman will have four years to attempt to rebuild the D.A.’s Office in his image and restore the faith in the criminal justice system that largely evaporated for his predecessor after his once-lauded election a half-decade prior.
For the latest vote tallies in California’s other statewide races and ballot initiatives, click here.