After an embattled four years in office, Los Angeles County District attorney George Gascón may well face an uphill battle on the ballot. But so do each of his 11 challengers, who are all struggling to make a name for themselves in a crowded race for the March 5 primary.
A recent California Elections and Policy Poll showed him leading the pack with 15% of the vote, but with five other candidates bunched closely behind him. A poll by advocacy group Thrive Los Angeles found that 14% of voters are backing him in the primary, 19% are backing a challenger and 67% are undecided.
Gascón rose to power in 2020 on the promise of decreasing incarceration rates and providing a more humane approach to criminal justice. This message still resonates with many Angelenos and has enabled him to secure high-profile endorsements in the 2024 race such as that of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.
But over the past four years, elements of his reform agenda have provoked a strong backlash from staff within his office, while rising rates of smash and grab robberies and property crime has dampened his appeal with some voters. Nonetheless, Gascon has secured some influential backers and is leading the race, but he’s clearly got a tough road ahead.
“He (Gascón) came into office in 2020 with an idea of trying to present something different, and he did, but it failed,” said Michael Bustamante, election expert and partner at California Strategies. “The polling shows he’s a weak candidate, which is why eleven candidates are running against him.”
Seven in 10 voters think that property crime, hate crimes, and smash and grab thefts are extremely serious or very serious problems in Los Angeles, Thrive L.A.’s poll reported. The poll also found that just 26% of voters hold a favorable view of Gascón.
“It’s clear that the majority of Angelenos will not be voting for Gascón,” said Sam Yebri, president of Thrive L.A. “But they’re still trying to figure out which of the other highly qualified candidates will do a better job, and possibly who has the best shot of beating Gascón in November.”
Voter confusion is understandable. Keeping track of the challengers — which include five deputy district attorneys, three current or former judges, an assistant U.S. attorney, a former assistant U.S. attorney general and a defense attorney — is no simple feat.
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The recent California Elections and Policy Poll found that 15% of likely voters favor Gascón and 21% favor challengers.
Out of the challengers, deputy district attorney Jonathan Hatami holds 8% of the vote; former U.S. Assistant attorney General Nathan Hochman holds 4%; and assistant U.S. attorney Jeff Chemerinsky, Superior Court Judge Craig Mitchell and deputy district attorney Maria Ramirez each hold 2%.
The challengers with a slight edge in the polls are also those with the heftier bank accounts.
Hatami, for example, ranks in the top three fundraisers and is campaigning on his record of prosecuting child physical and sexual abuse cases, domestic violence and homicides in the D.A.’s Office. He is known for winning convictions against the parents who tortured and murdered Gabriel Fernandez and Anthony Avalos and was featured in the Netflix true crime documentary, “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez”.
But it is former former U.S. Assistant attorney General Nathan Hochman who leads the pack in fundraising, having raised $1.54 million. Hochman ran for California attorney general in 2022 as a Republican candidate, and is running for D.A. as an independent.
Veteran campaign strategist Bustamante thinks Hochman’s past campaign may come back to bite him if he makes it through the primary and onto the November ballot.
“This is a supermajority Democratic county and he ran against Rob Bonta for attorney general as a Republican and got creamed,” said Bustamante. “He may try to disguise himself as something other than a Republican, but at the end of the day that’s who he is. Folks won’t forget it.”
Yebri also believes that a Hochman vs. Gascón showdown in November could advantage the incumbent.
“Gascón’s campaign rhetoric has been increasingly focused on labeling every other candidate in the field as right-wing and reactionary,” Yebri said. “If he faces someone who is a former Republican, that will be a gift to his campaign and a possible lifeline that allows him to survive.”
If elected, Hochman has said he would repeal all of the executive directives Gascón issued in office — a promise that eight of the other challengers have also made.
The directives include Gascón’s ban on the death penalty, on trying juveniles as adults, on many sentencing enhancements, and on the use of cash bail. They also include Gascon’s directive to no longer prosecute many misdemeanors such as trespassing, disturbing the peace, driving with no license, making criminal threats, drug possession, drinking in public and resisting arrest.
Assistant U.S. attorney Jeff Chemerinsky is the second-highest fundraiser and has collected $871,700 in campaign contributions.
He is running on a more progressive platform than Hochman and supports Gascón’s ban on the death penalty. However, he has said he would repeal the rest of Gascón’s blanket directives and treat every incident on a case-by-case basis.
“I think Chemerinsky provides an opportunity for Democratic voters to express their dissatisfaction with Gascon, without reversing some of the criminal justice progress that’s being made in our county,” said Yebri.
Chemerinsky also has the benefit of having a famous father — renowned legal scholar and UC Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, Bustamante noted.
“He’d (Chemerinsky) be a formidable challenge, no doubt,” he said. “People may not realize that he is a federal prosecutor, but the last name ‘Chemerinsky’ is well-known.”
Gascon currently ranks middle of the pack in terms of fundraising and has collected $287,857, but he is spending the funds at a rapid rate and as of Jan. 20 held just $21,800 in cash on hand.
At this point the race is still anyone’s game and there is no telling which of the many qualified candidates will make it to the runoff.
Four of the challengers are accomplished attorneys from within the D.A.’s office: Maria Ramirez, John McKinney, Eric Siddall and Hatami. There are also current Superior Court judges Debra Archuleta and Craig Mitchell, as well as former Superior Court judge David Milton.
“I’m struck by the compelling life stories of many of these candidates, including John McKinney losing his parents at a young age, Jon Hatami being a kidnapping victim and Deborah Archuleta being a survivor of domestic violence,” said Yebri. “Those experiences have clearly informed the careers of these dedicated public servants and create compelling narratives for voters.”
Criminal defense lawyer Dan Kapelovitz and San Bernardino County Deputy District attorney Lloyd “Bobcat” Masson are also making their case with voters.
Ultimately, all of the candidates face the same challenge of crafting a message that sets them apart — and then getting that message to L.A. County’s 5.8 million registered voters.
Here is a reminder of the candidates running for L.A. County District attorney:
- Debra Archuleta: Los Angeles Superior Court Judge and former deputy district attorney for 26 years.
- Jeff Chemerinsky: Assistant U.S. attorney, former head of violent crimes prosecutions for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
- George Gascón: L.A. County District attorney, former San Francisco District attorney and assistant chief of Police for the LAPD.
- Jonathan Hatami: Deputy district attorney known for winning convictions against the parents who tortured and murdered Gabriel Fernandez and Anthony Avalos.
- Nathan Hochman: Former U.S. Assistant attorney General, federal prosecutor and President of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission.
- Dan Kapelovitz: A criminal defense lawyer. Former journalist and law clerk for a judge in the Central District of California.
- Lloyd “Bobcat” Masson: Deputy district attorney in San Bernardino County.
- John McKinney: Deputy district attorney known for prosecuting the man convicted of killing rapper Nipsey Hussle and for helping launch the recall attempt against Gascon.
- David Milton: A retired Superior Court judge, U.S. Army veteran, former L.A. County prosecutor.
- Craig Mitchell: Superior Court Judge, former prosecutor, former high school teacher, founder of Skid Row running club.
- Maria Ramirez: Deputy district attorney in the target crimes division, who has sued Gascon, accusing him of unfairly demoting her in retaliation to pushing back against his policies.
- Eric Siddall: Deputy district attorney prosecuting violent crimes and former vice president of the union representing line prosecutors.
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