Ex-federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman declares victory in L.A. district attorney race

Former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman on Wednesday, Nov. 6, declared victory in his bid to become Los Angeles’ next district attorney, appearing to trounce incumbent George Gascón, a national leader in the progressive movement who swept into office four years ago amid widespread calls for criminal justice reform following the policing killing of George Floyd.

Hochman blew past Gascón as soon as the first set of election results began trickling in Tuesday night and never let up on his double-digit lead.

Gascón conceded the race Wednesday morning, several hours after the Associated Press declared Hochman the winner.

The Los Angeles County registrar’s office isn’t expected to finish counting ballots for days, but semi-official results released Wednesday afternoon had Hochman way ahead with 61% of the vote to Gascón’s 39%. More than 500,000 votes separated the two.

The registrar’s office, which estimated that there were still 1,116,100 ballots left to count, has until Dec. 3 to certify the results of the election.

LIVE ELECTION RESULTS: See a chart of the latest vote counts

“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 shortly after the Associated Press called the race for him.

“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 added.

In a statement conceding the election, Gascón said, “the rightward shift across America last night is heartbreaking. 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,” Gascón continued. “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.”

In an interview Wednesday afternoon, Hochman said Gascón “very graciously” called him that morning and offered to help with the transition of power to ensure a smooth change in leadership. Hochman will be sworn in on Dec. 2 as L.A. County’s 44th district attorney.

Hochman said Gascón praised him during their brief phone conversation for running a good campaign. Hochman said he in turn expressed appreciation to Gascón for the current D.A.’s prior service in the military and with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Hochman’s win this week was not unexpected.

Although Gascón was the incumbent and was the top vote-getter in the March primary election, he came into Election Day as the underdog. Recent polls had him trailing Hochman by 24 to 30 percentage points.

Gascón was elected L.A.’s district attorney in 2020 on a progressive platform focused on criminal justice reform and police accountability that resonated with voters amid a national outcry over the police killing of George Floyd.

But controversial policies Gascón implemented soon after he came into office – such as prohibiting prosecutors to seek “sentencing enhancements” that would’ve added years to a criminal’s jail time in certain cases – led to turmoil within the D.A.’s office and multiple lawsuits against Gascón by deputy district attorneys who worked for him. The Association of Deputy District Attorneys, which represents deputy D.A.s in L.A. County, endorsed Hochman over Gascón.

Over the past four years, Gascón’s critics have also tried twice to recall him, though both efforts failed to qualify for the ballot.

Gascón then struggled to gain the same level of voter support this year.

Although he finished first in the March primary election, Gascón captured just 25% of the vote – which some political observers considered a poor showing for an incumbent. That race featured a crowded field of 12 candidates.

Hochman, meanwhile, ran on a more traditional, tougher-on-crime platform. He crafted a narrative that L.A. County had become less safe over the past four years – and placed the blame squarely on Gascón for a rise in crimes. Hochman has repeatedly described Gascón’s policies, which he views as lax, as a “social experiment” that has “failed” and made criminals less afraid to commit crimes.

On Wednesday, Hochman vowed to act quickly once in office to restore sentencing enhancements for gang members and those who commit crimes involving a gun. He also said he would allow prosecutors to again accompany victims to parole hearings – a practice he said Gascón had gotten rid of.

Hochman was quick to say he is not for mass incarceration – something Gascón had accused him of. He said his goal in restoring sentencing enhancements, for example, isn’t to “fill the prisons” but “to deter criminals from committing crimes in the first place.”

Jim Newton, who teaches in UCLA’s public policy and communications departments and is founding editor of Blueprint, a magazine that looks at public policy research and governance in L.A. and elsewhere in the state, believes Hochman won by such large margins not because voters in deep-blue L.A. County rejected Gascón’s progressive agenda necessarily, but because voters were turned off by the incumbent himself.

“Gascón infuriated even lots of (his own) supporters,” Newton said. “He came into office the first day, issued all these memos that set this new course for prosecutorial strategy and principles. … That antagonized a lot of people in the office who felt he hadn’t consulted them.”

Newton said he’s spoken with some people who previously donated to Gascón’s campaign but later felt he wasn’t accessible to listening to their ideas.

“I think he alienated lots of people in and around the office by at least seeming to be very arrogant,” said Newton, adding that there was a general sense that Gascón was “aloof.”

Heading into Election Day, some also viewed the district attorney race as a referendum on the current state of public safety in the nation’s most populous county.

On the campaign trail, both candidates cited different statistics to make their cases about whether L.A. County is safer since Gascón took office nearly four years ago.

The incumbent insisted that violent crime, including homicide, is down while acknowledging that some property crimes like car thefts have gone up. He said his office has addressed organized retail theft and has been “very aggressive” in tackling hate crimes, human trafficking and waste theft.

Countering claims that he is too soft on criminals, Gascón said under his leadership, the D.A.’s office has prosecuted serious and violent crime cases at rates comparable to before he took office.

Hochman challenged Gascón’s claim that violent crime is down, saying the incumbent relied on statistics from the Los Angeles Police Department that only showed crime trends in the city of L.A. Citing data from the California Department of Justice, which take into account crime trends for all 88 cities in L.A. County, Hochman said that between 2020 and 2023, violent crime, property crimes and hate crimes increased by double digits while shoplifting skyrocketed 133% countywide.