LOS ANGELES—Current Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon has lost his bid for re-election against challenger Nathan Hochman on Wednesday, November 6. Gascon lost to Hochman who currently holds 61.46 percent of the vote (1, 421,207 votes) compared to Gascon’s 38.54 percent (891,264 votes).
Gascon won the role four years earlier running a campaign on criminal justice reform, but the spike in crime in the Los Angeles County was a concern for many residents in Los Angeles County. He recently made the news with his push to recommend the release of Erik and Lyle Menendez, who murdered their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989 in Beverly Hills.
Their first trial ended in a mistrial, but a second trial in 1995 found both brothers guilty of first-degree murder and they were sentenced to life in prison without parole. Gascón served as the 43rd District Attorney for Los Angeles County and took office on December 7, 2020, and immediately instituted a series of policies based on science, data and research to bring change within the criminal legal system.
During his first day in office, Gascón ended the use of the death penalty as a sentence in Los Angeles County; stopped charging children as adults; eliminated many sentencing enhancements that do not benefit public safety and contribute to mass incarceration; and removed cash bail for misdemeanor or nonserious or nonviolent felony offenses under California law as determined by the California Supreme Court in its People v. Humphrey decision.
While serving as San Francisco District Attorney, property crime in the region rose close to 50 percent, as a result of Gascon not filing charges against “low-level” offenders.
Gascón joined the U.S. Army and quickly became the youngest sergeant in his brigade. He earned his high school diploma while simultaneously taking college extension courses, and after earning a history degree from Cal State Long Beach, Gascón got a job as a patrol officer in the Hollywood Division of the Los Angeles Police Department.
In 2009, former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Gascón to be San Francisco’s Chief of Police. Newsom later asked Gascón to fill a vacancy created when then-District Attorney Kamala Harris was elected California Attorney General. He was re-elected San Francisco District Attorney twice. He was the first Latino to hold that office, and the nation’s first Police Chief to become District Attorney.
Hochman is a former federal prosecutor and Assistant U.S. Attorney General. He will assume the role of the newest LA County District Attorney in December 2024.
