By Canadian press

November 6, 2024 | 3:09 a.m.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nathan Hochman defeated George Gascón in the race for Los Angeles County district attorney, unseating an incumbent known as the godfather of progressive prosecutors.

Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, calls himself a “tough middle” candidate who would reject both mass incarceration and the “public safety failure” of Gascón’s tenure over the past four years.

He advanced out of a primary field of 11 challengers and spent most of the campaign attacking Gascón’s policies that he said led to an increase in crime and a lack of consequences for juvenile offenders. During the discussions he highlighted the increase in violent crime in the county, a trend also seen across the state and nationally.

Hochman’s victory reflects growing discontent in the state with progressive district attorneys who have pushed for criminal justice reform. Previously there were two attempts to recall Gascón that failed to qualify for the runoff; San Francisco voters ousted one of the first reform-minded prosecutors elected to office in 2022; and Oakland voters were asked in Tuesday’s election whether to remember his own district attorney.