Los Angeles County voters ousted District Attorney George Gascón from office on Election Day, electing challenger Nathan Hockman by a staggering 61.5% to 38.5% margin.
The 22-point victory was slightly smaller than polls had predicted in the weeks leading up to the election. The latest poll showed Gascón with a 25-point lead. Still, as of Wednesday morning, the vote count remained at 59.49%.
Gascón won in 2020 at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement with millions of dollars in aid from left-wing billionaire George Soros and support from the Democratic establishment.
Mayor Eric Garcetti at the time had supported Jackie Lacey, the first Black female prosecutor in office, but withdrew his support and endorsed Gascon.
Mr. Gascón continued to embrace radical “criminal justice reform” policies supported by Mr. Soros and prosecutors across the country, taking pride in reducing sentences, eliminating cash bail, and releasing criminals. .
His performance sparked an open revolt by the rank-and-file prosecutor and two recall attempts by county residents, but the second time county officials stripped him of enough signatures to remove the recall vote from the ballot. It failed just because of that.
Elsewhere, Auckland voters close As of Wednesday morning, another Soros-backed prosecutor, Pamela Price, was set to be recalled. California voters also approved Proposition 36, an anti-crime ballot measure that overturns portions of 2014's Proposition 47, which reduced many criminal sentences.
The backlash against “woke” criminal justice showed the limits even for Democratic voters who overwhelmingly supported Vice President Kamala Harris in her home state.
Mr. Hochman, a former federal prosecutor and former Republican California attorney general candidate, has vowed to reverse Mr. Gascon's policies.
His slogan was simple: “Gascon must go!”
Gascon is gone.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
