Summary
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón lost his re-election bid to Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, according to AP projections.
Gascón, elected in 2020 on a reformist platform, faced backlash for policies like ending cash bail for nonviolent offenses and not prosecuting juveniles as adults. His tenure saw rising concerns over crime and homelessness, amplified by viral “smash-and-grab” robbery videos.
Hochman campaigned as a tougher alternative, pledging to restore “law and order.”
Gascón’s defeat follows a broader pushback against progressive prosecutors in California.
I haven’t had the impression that progressives have been happy with the increasingly lenient policies of DAs in various cities for the past few years regarding crimes like burglary, auto theft and shoplifting. In Denver for instance, police have said that they don’t really bother investigating some crimes since basically the policy is to let repeat offenders out the next day on PR and essentially wait for them to victimize someone badly enough to stay in jail for a while. As someone not remotely conservative, it’s amazing to side with police not doing their jobs due to DAs acting like that.