Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon lost his seat in a landslide to independent challenger Nathan Hochman, The Associated Press and Los Angeles Times reported.
Gascon is projected to lose against Hochman in a crucial seat in one of America’s most crime-ridden cities, according to the AP and the LA Times Wednesday morning. Hochman will take up the mantle as the city continues to reel from a crime problem, with violent incidents overall remaining above pre-pandemic levels, according to FBI data.
Currently, Hochman leads Gascon by over 20 points with an estimated 59% of votes counted, according to the AP.
Gascon trailed Hochman for the majority of the race, with polling showing him down by as much as 30 points in early October, according to a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) poll cosponsored by the Los Angeles Times. The Soros-backed district attorney won with 53% of the vote in 2020, according to the final vote count.
“It’s mostly a vote on Gascón,” Mark DiCamillo, director of the UC Berkeley IGS poll, told the LA Times in November. “Hochman is the other candidate in this race and he’s in that fortunate position of running against an unpopular incumbent.”
Hochman supports tougher punishments for crime and ending “early release policies,” according to his campaign website. He was endorsed by the Los Angeles County Police Chief’s Association among other local police organizations.
“While the final votes haven’t been tallied, all indications are the voices of the residents of LA County have been heard and they’re saying enough is enough of George [Gascón’s] policies and they look forward to a safer future,” Hochman said in reaction to the first results, the LA Times reported.
During his tenure in Los Angeles, Gascon faced heavy criticism for his leniency in prosecuting criminals. He promised upon taking office that he would not pursue the death penalty, wouldn’t try minors as adults and wouldn’t give life sentences without parole, according to Bolts.
Gascon set Leroy McCrary free on probation for an armed robbery, only for McCrary to allegedly shoot Patricia McKay dead in another robbery while out in July. He also offered a plea deal to 61-year-old Nancy Jackson, who killed three family members in their home in 2018, reducing a potential 75 year sentence to life sentence to only 20 years.
The left-wing prosecutor also allowed trans woman Hannah Tubbs, a biological male who molested a 10-year-old girl when he was just shy of 18, to serve a two-year sentence in a juvenile facility.
Gascon’s tenure was marked by an increase in crime overall, with violent crime jumping by 12% and property crime 15% from 2021 to 2023, according to CalMatters.
Gascon received funding from left-wing billionaire George Soros, getting a $4.5 million grant from the Sores-affiliated California Justice & Public Safety PAC in support of his 2020 campaign. However, Soros did not fund his 2024 reelection bid, along with Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.
“The rightward shift across America last night is heartbreaking,” Gascon said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Democrats have a long road ahead, but the work is more vital than ever and our commitment will not waver. Nevertheless, I have called Mr. Hochman and wish him the best as Los Angeles County’s next District Attorney. I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished over the past four years and grateful to the communities who have been and will always be the heart of criminal justice reform”
The Hochman campaign did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include comment from the Gascon campaign.
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