Nathan Hochman wins race for LA County DA, beating incumbent George Gascón

LOS ANGELES - After a highly publicized race, former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman defeated incumbent George Gascón, becoming the next district attorney of Los Angeles County.

Hochman took a major lead over Gascón. The race was called at 1:06 a.m. Wednesday with Hochman securing 61.4% of the vote. Gascón trailed behind with only 38% of votes earned. 

Weeks leading to the election, polls showed Hochman with a wide lead over his predecessor. 

Hochman has been a longtime critic of Gascón saying his policies led to a rise in crime in the county and alleged the former DA of  "practicing an extreme pro-criminal decarceration policy."

During his campaign, Hochman said his plan on day one of being in office would be to reverse Gascón's "pro-criminal blanket policies." Hochman also promised to be tough on crime and take politics out of the DA's office.

His goals also include restoring the integrity, independence, and trust in the DA's office and restoring the partnership between law enforcement and the DA's office. 

His plans also include allowing prosecutors again to accompany victims at parole hearings, restoring opportunities for rehabilitation for those who suffer from mental illness and/or drug addiction, and restoring opportunities and skills for those who go to prison.

Hochman promises to work in the hard middle.

"The hard middle requires you to look at each case individually, look at each defendant, the defendant's background, the crime committed, and the impact on the victim to determine who the true threats are to our public safety. Those are often the repeat offenders who need to be behind bars. And quite honestly, the ones that aren't there, the first time nonviolent offenders still has to pay back a debt to society if they violate society's laws. But the punishment needs to be proportional to the crime."

Hochman's background 

Hochman has been a defense attorney for 24 years and a prosecutor for ten. He previously served as the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division from 2008 to 2009. He also served as the president of the L.A. City Ethics Commission from 2011 to 2016.

Hochman was a centrist Democrat for 20 years, and a centrist Republican for another 20 years. He ran his campaign as an independent.