Several left-wing district attorneys could find themselves out of a job after Tuesday’s election as voters head to the polls to voice their frustration over an explosion in crime currently ripping through their communities.
With many progressive prosecutors on the ballot this election, polling and fundraising data shows that voters are rejecting soft-on-crime policy across the nation with their ballots and wallets, according to multiple reports. Crime remains one of the most important issues in the election, with 75% of voters saying crime is very or somewhat important to their decision in the 2024 election, according to a Gallup poll released Oct. 9.
Pamela Price, district attorney of Alameda County, California, is facing a recall election amid elevated crime rates in her county since she assumed office in January 2023. That year, auto theft more than doubled, robbery increased 19%, burglaries 14% and theft under $200 in value increased 31%, according to county statistics.
Additionally, she received backing from left-wing billionaire George Soros during her failed 2018 campaign, receiving $700,000 from the Soros-affiliated California Justice and Public Safety PAC.
Price recently gave lenient plea deals to Dijon Holifield and Delonzo Logwood, who were charged with a string of murders in 2008 in Oakland, according to the Berkeley Scanner. Logwood had two out of his three murder charges dropped while Holifield had his dropped to one manslaughter charge and has served 12 of his 13 years already, and is set to be released next year.
“These gang members wanted to be known as the most violent gangsters in Oakland,” Stacie Pettigrew, lead prosecutor on the case who resigned after Price took office, told the Scanner. “It would have resolved through a jury trial and a verdict had we been allowed to go forward. But instead, she gave them the deal of a lifetime and he’ll be out next year.”
She also granted a plea deal to Benicia Knapps after she shot and killed security guard Blake Mohs in a Home Depot while trying to steal an item in April 2023, according to San Francisco-based outlet KRON 4. The plea deal allowed Knapps to avoid a potential 25 years to life, instead getting only 19 years to life, according to NBC Bay Area.
Her getaway driver, David Guillory, will only serve seven years instead of 16 years for child endangerment, accessory and evading law enforcement, according to NBC Bay Area.
Price held a small lead in a July poll with 41% supporting her and 37% supporting the recall effort, according to a Binder research poll. Additionally, the recall campaign is outspending the anti-recall effort by nearly triple, according to Bay Area outlet KQED.
As Price tries to stave off recall in Alameda county, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon is facing a similarly tough challenge.
Gascon has struggled in the polls and trails independent challenger Nathan Hochman by 30 points, according to Politico. Under Gascon, Los Angeles County has experienced a 12% violent crime increase and a 15% property crime increase from 2021 to 2023, according to CalMatters.
Gascon also has a history of giving lenient deals to violent criminals.
For example, Gascon offered a plea deal to 61-year-old Nancy Jackson, who killed three family members in their home in 2018, when she was facing a possible sentence of 75 years to life, according to Los Angeles-based outlet ABC 7. The deal reduced her sentence to only 20 years.
Gascon also received Soros funding, scoring a $4.5 million grant in support of his 2020 campaign.
“People of this state do not get justice. The criminals get more justice than the people who are suffering from the crimes at the hands of criminals,” Terry Carter, a family member of the victims, told ABC 7.
Another example involved Leroy McCrary, who Gascon agreed to a three-year suspended sentence for armed robbery, only for McCrary to shoot tourist Patricia McKay dead in another robbery while out on probation in July.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins is looking to defend her seat from progressive challenger Ryan Khojasteh, who worked for the recalled former District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Jenkins, who worked in the assistant District Attorney’s office before, was appointed by Democratic Mayor London Breed after the recall in 2022.
Jenkins was a harsh critic of her predecessor, saying Boudin’s policies were directly responsible for the city’s crime problem. In response, Jenkins made it a priority to institute harsher sentencing, raising the amount of convictions for the first time in eight years in 2023, according to city data.
Khojasteh, in contrast, advocates for a more progressive platform such as reducing incarceration rates, giving police officers “culturally relevant” training and increasing oversight, according to his campaign website. However, he has simultaneously made efforts to distance himself from Boudin, saying he did not seek her endorsement, according to an interview with Mission Local in June.
Gascon and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, another Soros-funded prosecutor, have endorsed Khojasteh, according to his campaign website.
Jenkins has raised over three times more for her campaign than Khojasteh, according to the California Globe. Jenkins also became popular upon succeeding Boudin, hitting a 56% approval in June 2022 compared to Boudin’s 30%, according to the San Francisco Standard.
“California cities are the direct result of a law enforcement philosophy that is destructive and antithetical to the possibility of civil peace,” Heather Mac Donald, Thomas W. Smith fellow at the Manhattan Institute told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “It’s [a philosophy] that is driven by the idea that the criminal justice system is racist if blacks are disproportionately arrested and incarcerated, but the reason that there are racial disparities in the criminal justice system is because the black crime rate is so high.”
Huy Nguyen, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association, sees district attorney offices as important for law enforcement since they largely direct how officers prioritize and enforce crimes.
“As the top person in law enforcement in the county, you have to chart a path that the law enforcement officers in every city can follow to find justice for the people in their community,” Nguyen told the DCNF.
The Maricopa County race pits Democrat Tamika Wooten and incumbent Republican Rachel Mitchell. Mitchell oversaw a 26% decrease in the crime rate of the county from 2021 to 2022, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office data.
She has also received endorsements from the Fraternal Order of Police as well as the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association.
Wooten’s platform is focused on “alternatives” for incarceration for “minor offenses” in order to reduce the population, according to her campaign website. She has been endorsed by Democratic Arizona Rep. and Senate candidate Ruben Gallego and Tempe, Arizona, Mayor Corey Woods.
Mitchell lead the race by two points, according to Phoenix-based KTAR News poll taken Aug. 12 to Aug. 16.
In Harris County, Texas, Sean Teare beat incumbent District Attorney Kim Ogg in the Democratic primary, according to the Houston Chronicle. Teare will face Republican Dan Simons.
Teare’s campaign has focused on “reproductive rights,” reducing punishments for drug crimes and instituting bail reform, according to his campaign website. Teare also received $1.7 million in 2023, with a considerable amount coming from the Soros-backed Texas Justice and Public Safety PAC, according to the Chronicle.
Additionally, Ogg was previously backed by Soros.
Khojasteh and Price’s office did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment. Gascon’s office did not comment. The Wooten and Teare campaigns could not be reached for comment.
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