LA County DA Race Election Results 2024
In the race for LA County DA, 11 candidates are looking to unseat current District Attorney George Gascón.
Gascón is likely to head into a runoff in the November general election. He quickly gained the most votes, 22%.
Former U.S. assistant attorney general Nathan Hochman came in second with 17% and deputy district attorney Jonathan Hatami came in third with 13%.
Other challengers include local prosecutor Eric Siddall, former federal prosecutor Jeff Chemerinsky, deputy DAs Maria Ramirez and John McKinney, Judge Craig J. Mitchell, David S. Milton, Debra Archuleta, Dan Kapelovitz, and Lloyd "Bobcat" Masson.
Hochman said if elected in November, he would take politics out of the DA's office and rely on facts and evidence in prosecuting criminals.
"On the very first day I would reverse George Gascón pro-criminal blanket policies. For instance the one that allowed people to steal under $950 to get off scot-free. The ones that don't back victim families that are facing there murders at parole hearings. The ones that have thrown out enhancements for guns, for gangs for three-strikes, I will reverse those policies," Hochman told FOX 11.
Since taking office in 2020, Gascón faced backlash for his sweeping policy changes and soft approach on crime. Under Gascón, the county saw a drastic increase in crime including follow-home robberies, smash-and-grab robberies, homelessness and homicide. Within his first year of office, Gascón faced a recall -- however, despite strong support, the recall attempt failed. A second recall attempt also failed.
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Several of his challengers told FOX 11 that the DA's office needs change and new leadership. They say the people of LA deserve a DA that will protect them, keep the community safe and properly prosecute criminals.
According to the California Elections and Policy Poll, only 24% of LA County voters approve of the job Gascón is doing as district attorney, while 51% of likely voters disapprove.
Most of the challengers have said they will reverse the sweeping policy changes Gascón enacted on his first day in office.
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During a debate last month, Gascón defended his directives saying, "We have seen crime coming down not only in our community, but we're seeing crime going down nationwide, at the same time that we have continued with the reform efforts. We're showing that not only we cannot go back to the way that we did business, but actually the fact is our reforms are good for public safety."