Former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman will replace incumbent George Gascón to become the next Los Angeles County District Attorney.
With more than half of the ballots counted, Hochman led Gascón by over 400,000 votes early Wednesday morning, according to the Associated Press.
Hochman, a former Republican, called himself a “hard middle” candidate who would reject both mass incarceration and the “public safety failure” of Gascón’s tenure the past four years.
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“The voters of Los Angeles County have spoken and have said enough is enough of D.A. Gascón’s pro-criminal extreme policies; they look forward to a safer future,” Hochman said in a statement early Wednesday. “As D.A., I look forward to representing all of the people, whether they voted for me or not, since their safety will be my responsibility.”
Hochman, a former republican who led Gascón by double digits in recent polls, received support from the Association of Deputy District Attorneys as well as police unions and former LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, who Gascón had previously ousted in 2020.
Hochman’s tougher stance on crime, including retail thefts that plagued California businesses since the pandemic, may have gained support from more Californians as voters Tuesday passed Prop 36, which will strengthen criminal penalties for repeat offenders of theft and drug crimes.
Those who were skeptical of Hochman had said Gascón’s projected loss would put a pause on the progressive agenda of criminal justice and police reform.
But Hochman, one-time California attorney general candidate, had assured during an interview with NBC Los Angeles’ NewsConference that he too would free wrongfully convicted people and pursue police accountability – only more efficiently than the incumbent.
“I will be the first DA in history that not only has a prosecutorial background, but actually a defense attorney,” Hochman explained “I go into court every single day promoting the presumption of innocence, forcing the government to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury at a unanimous level.”
Hochman had beat out 10 other candidates in the primary before facing the progressive incumbent in the runoff.
