Los Angeles County District Attorney election, 2024
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2024 Los Angeles County elections |
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Election dates |
Filing deadline: December 8, 2023 |
Primary election: March 5, 2024 General election: November 5, 2024 |
Election stats |
Offices up: District attorney |
Election type: Nonpartisan |
Other municipal elections |
U.S. municipal elections, 2024 |
Nathan Hochman defeated incumbent George Gascón in the general election for Los Angeles County district attorney on November 5, 2024.[1] Hochman received 61.5% of the vote to Gascón's 38.5%.
Gascón and Hochman were the top two finishers in the nonpartisan primary, receiving 24.4% and 16.4% of the vote, respectively. The two advanced to a general election because neither won more than 50% of the vote.
Before the election, LAist wrote the race was "expected to be closely watched across the country as a barometer of how the public is feeling about criminal justice reforms amid an increase in property crime. Property crime is up 17.4% in the city of L.A. so far this year compared to two years ago...Violent crime is down 1.3% year to date from two years ago."[2]
Although the election was nonpartisan, Gascón was a registered Democrat, and Hochman was an independent.[3][4]
Gascón was elected in 2020 on a platform of not seeking the death penalty, limiting the imposition of cash bail for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, and "stopping the practice of imposing excessive sentences."[5][6] Gascón said his policies made county residents safer and he would keep them in place if re-elected. He said, "The reality is that having thoughtful policies that hold people accountable, as we have, sending people to prison when they need to be locked up, but recognizing that prison cannot be the only one answer is what public safety is all about."[7] Gascón previously served eight years as San Francisco district attorney. He earlier served as chief of police in San Francisco and in Mesa, Arizona.[8]
Hochman was, at the time of the election, a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor.[9] Hochman said Gascón put his policies ahead of public safety. Hochman said he would prioritize public safety and victims' rights over reducing the length of sentences.[10][11] Hochman said Gascón was responsible for "nine of the most pro-criminal blanket policies in DA history."[12] Hochman said his public and private legal experience would help him change the direction of the district attorney's office.[9] Hochman said he would avoid Gascón's policies centered on decarceration in favor of what he described as "the hard middle, which means you look at each individual case, the defendant, the crime committed, and the impact on the victim to determine who the true threats to our safety are, who needs to be behind bars."[12]
Before the election, local political observers said Hochman, who ran for attorney general as a Republican in 2022, faced a disadvantage in Los Angeles County, where Democrats had been favored in recent elections.[13] The county voted for President Joe Biden (D) over former President Donald Trump (R) 71%–27% in 2020 and for Rob Bonta (D) over Hochman 67%–33% in the 2022 attorney general election.[14][15] At the time of the election, the last Republican elected Los Angeles County district attorney was Steve Cooley (R) in 2008. Hochman said after the primary that "three-quarters of Angelenos rejected George Gascón and said enough is enough of playing politics with our communities’ safety...In the general election, I look forward to unifying all those who want to restore safety in their communities, in their streets, parks, subways and neighborhoods."[16]
Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan) completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. To read those survey responses, click here.
Los Angeles County also held nonpartisan elections for board of supervisors, community college districts, water districts, and superior court judges in 2024. Click here for an overview of those elections and here for more on the March 5 nonpartisan primary.
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for Los Angeles County District Attorney
Nathan Hochman defeated incumbent George Gascón in the general election for Los Angeles County District Attorney on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 59.9 | 1,983,802 |
![]() | George Gascón (Nonpartisan) | 40.1 | 1,328,710 |
Total votes: 3,312,512 | ||||
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Voting information
- See also: Voting in California
What was the voter registration deadline?
- In-person: November 5, 2024.[17]
- By mail: Received by October 21, 2024.
- Online: October 21, 2024.
What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline? California law provides for automatic, universal voting by mail. Local election officials automatically deliver mail-in ballots to all registered voters without the need for a request. Voters are permitted to cast votes in person.
What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?
- In-person: 8:00PM Pacific Time on November 5, 2024.
- By mail: Postmarked by November 5, 2024, and received by November 12, 2024.
Was early voting available to all voters? Yes.
What were the early voting start and end dates? Early voting was available at the county election office headquarters in Norwalk starting on October 7, 2024, and running through Election Day on November 5, 2024.[18]
Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required? Under California law, voters may be asked to show identification when voting if they are voting for the first time after registering to vote by mail and did not provide a driver license number, California identification number, or the last four digits of their social security number when registering. The list of acceptable forms of identification includes both photo and non-photo IDs.
When were polls open on Election Day? Polls opened at 7:00AM Pacific Time on Election Day and closed at 8:00PM Pacific Time.
Candidate comparison
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.
Incumbent: Yes
Political Office:
- Los Angeles County District Attorney (Assumed office: 2020)
- San Francisco District Attorney (2011-2019)
Biography: Gascón graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a bachelor's degree in history and obtained his law degree from Western State University College of Law. After serving in the U.S. Army, Gascón joined the Los Angeles Police Department as a patrol officer, eventually becoming assistant chief of police. Gascón left the department to become the chief of police in Mesa, Arizona, in 2006. In 2009, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) appointed Gascón chief of police in San Francisco.
Show sources
Sources: George Gascón campaign website, "Home page," accessed January 11, 2024, George Gascón campaign website, "District Attorney George Gascón Kicks Off 2024 Reelection Campaign," November 21, 2023, ABC 7, "LA County race for district attorney: Gascón faces off with candidates in Democratic debate," November 16, 2023; George Gascón campaign website, "Meet George," accessed January 11, 2024
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Los Angeles County District Attorney in 2024.
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I am a lifelong Angelino, who was born, grew up, educated, married, and raised 3 children– all in Los Angeles County. I have chosen to stay and fight for the LA County community I love. Our current DA has instituted policies and taken actions that have made us less safe, destroyed morale in the DA’s office, endangered the DA’s partnership with law enforcement, and damaged the DA’s Office’s credibility with victims and the public. I am running to remove politics from prosecutorial decisions and restore independence, honesty, and integrity to the DA’s Office to prevent crime, protect public safety, and ensure justice is served to all LA County residents. Unlike the current DA who has never prosecuted or defended a single criminal case in his entire life, I have prosecuted over 100 cases as a federal prosecutor. I have also defended over 200 criminal cases. In addition, I was presidentially nominated, unanimously Senate confirmed as the U.S. Assistant Attorney General running the U.S. Dept. of Justice’s Tax Division; served as the President of the L.A. City Ethics Commission; led two major international law firms’ government investigations practices; and co-founded the L.A. Sheriff’s Foundation. With over 34 years’ criminal justice experience on all sides of the aisle and proven leadership experience with government, private practice, and community organizations, I can restore public safety, the partnership with law enforcement, and the DA’s Office’s reputation from Day One."
This information was current as of the candidate's run for Los Angeles County District Attorney in 2024.
Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses
Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
Survey responses from candidates in this race
Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
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Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan)
Fentanyl: Fentanyl, a drug 50 times stronger than heroin, is responsible for over half of drug overdose deaths in LA County and is murdering hundreds of children a year. It kills indiscriminately across political, geographic, racial, ethnic, religious, and socio-economic lines. Gascón has failed to treat fentanyl poisoners, including serial offenders, as murderers or even adopt the “Alexandra warning” to be given to convicted fentanyl dealers that if they do the crime again and someone dies, they may be charged with murder. On Day One, I will launch a massive local-state-federal task force to combat fentanyl poisoners and simultaneously launch a huge educational effort targeted to children and their parents on the perils of fentanyl.
Homelessness: The homelessness crisis is one of the most visible failures of leadership. The DA’s Office needs to change the trajectory of addressing LA’s homeless challenges by partnering with law enforcement, municipal agencies, the CARE courts, non-profit organizations, as well as local stakeholders and community leaders, to work on effective programs to help break the spiraling downward cycle of the homeless, over 70% of whom suffer from serious mental illness, substance abuse disorder, or both.

Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan)

Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan)

Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan)
Moreover, I am the only candidate who has represented law enforcement officers in administrative, civil, and criminal proceedings as well as the only candidate who prosecuted law enforcement officers who blatantly violated the law (narcotics deputies in the 1990s who stole from drug dealers). I am the only candidate who is a co-founder of the L.A. Sheriff’s Foundation, which was started to support the LASD during the summer of 2020 when law enforcement was being attacked. We have subsequently raised over $1 million for everything from a communications crisis center, flak jackets, and ATVs to financial help for the 76 cadets who were run over by a car during their training run. These roles give me credibility when I say that I will always have law enforcement’s back but also will not tolerate anyone, including law enforcement officers, who crosses the criminal line.
These experiences and qualities are what put me above the rest of the field to be a successful District Attorney.

Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan)

Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan)

Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan)

Nathan Hochman (Nonpartisan)
Debra Wong Yang, United States Attorney (2002-2006) Nicola Hanna, United States Attorney (2018-2021) Terree Bowers, United States Attorney (1992-1994) Sandra Brown, United States Attorney (2017-2018) Robert Bonner, United States Attorney (1984-1989) Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes Joyce Dudley, former DA from Santa Barbara County Les Bider, former Chair, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles Stanley Gold, former Chair, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Irwin Field, former Chair, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Campaign advertisements
This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.
George Gascón
Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for George Gascón while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.
Nathan Hochman
January 22, 2024 |
April 10, 2023 |
View more ads here:
Endorsements
Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.
Election competitiveness
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.
Election spending
Campaign finance
Candidates in this election submitted campaign finance reports to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Click here to access those reports.
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[19][20][21]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
Election context
Ballot access requirements
The table below details filing requirements for district attorney candidates in Los Angeles County in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in California, click here.
Filing requirements for Los Angeles County District Attorney candidates, 2024 | ||||||
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Signatures required | Filing fee | Filing deadline | Source | |||
20-40 | $4,023.79[22] | 12/8/2023 | 1 2 |
Los Angeles County district attorney election history
2020
General election
General election for Los Angeles County District Attorney
George Gascón defeated incumbent Jackie Lacey in the general election for Los Angeles County District Attorney on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | George Gascón (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 53.5 | 2,002,865 |
![]() | Jackie Lacey (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 46.5 | 1,738,617 |
Total votes: 3,741,482 | ||||
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If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Los Angeles County District Attorney
Incumbent Jackie Lacey and George Gascón defeated Rachel Rossi in the primary for Los Angeles County District Attorney on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Jackie Lacey (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 48.7 | 869,127 |
✔ | ![]() | George Gascón (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 28.2 | 504,088 |
Rachel Rossi (Nonpartisan) | 23.1 | 413,231 |
Total votes: 1,786,446 | ||||
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If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. |
2016
Incumbent Jackie Lacey won re-election unopposed.
2012
Jackie Lacey defeated Alan Jackson in the general election for Los Angeles County District Attorney on November 6, 2012.
Los Angeles County District Attorney, 2012 | ||||
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Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
Nonpartisan | ![]() |
54.6% | 1,050,671 | |
Nonpartisan | Alan Jackson | 45.4% | 874,582 | |
Total Votes | 1,925,253 | |||
Election results via Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "November 6, 2012, General Election Statement of Vote," accessed January 11, 2024 |
Jackie Lacey and Alan Jackson advanced from the primary for Los Angeles County District Attorney on June 5, 2012.
Los Angeles County District Attorney, 2012 | ||||
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Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
Nonpartisan | ![]() |
31.7% | 145,483 | |
Nonpartisan | ![]() |
23.8% | 108,944 | |
Nonpartisan | Carmen Trutanich | 22.2% | 101,571 | |
Nonpartisan | Danette E. Meyers | 13.4% | 61,413 | |
Nonpartisan | Bobby Grace | 5.5% | 25,404 | |
Nonpartisan | John L. Breault III | 3.4% | 15,407 | |
Total Votes | 458,222 | |||
Election results via Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "June 5, 2012, Presidential Primary Statement of Vote," accessed January 11, 2024 |
2024 battleground elections
- See also: Battlegrounds
This was a battleground election. Other 2024 battleground elections included:
- Indiana's 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 7 Republican primary)
- Nevada State Senate elections, 2024
- Texas' 23rd Congressional District election, 2024 (March 5 Republican primary)
See also
Los Angeles County, California | California | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ NBC News, "L.A. County district attorney, one of the most progressive in the country, loses re-election," November 6, 2024
- ↑ LAist, "9 Candidates For LA County DA Will Debate Tonight. The Current DA Won't Be One Of Them," October 18, 2023
- ↑ Los Angeles Magazine, "Former Federal Prosecutor Jeff Chemerinsky Enters Race for District Attorney," September 12, 2023
- ↑ George Gascón campaign website, "Home page," accessed January 12, 2024
- ↑ National Public Radio, "George Gascón Implements Sweeping Changes To Los Angeles District Attorney's Office," December 8, 2020
- ↑ Los Angeles County District Attorney, "Special Directive 20-14," December 7, 2020
- ↑ ABC 7, "LA County race for district attorney: Gascón faces off with candidates in Democratic debate," November 16, 2023
- ↑ George Gascòn campaign website, "Meet George," accessed January 12, 2024
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Nathan Hochman campaign website, "Home page," accessed January 12, 2024
- ↑ YouTube, "Nathan Hochman for LA County District Attorney - Fixing LA's Broken Scales of Justice," April 10, 2023
- ↑ Nathan Hochman campaign website, "Blueprint for Justice," accessed January 12, 2024
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Audacy, "L.A. DA candidate calls Gascón’s policies ‘pro-criminal’," March 12, 2024
- ↑ CALMatters, "Assessing the path to office for each contender seeking Los Angeles district attorney," February 29, 2024
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Los Angeles County General Election Results - November 3, 2020," accessed March 20, 2024
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Los Angeles County General Election Results - November 8, 2022," accessed March 20, 2024
- ↑ Los Angeles Daily News, "Election 2024: Gascón leads crowded DA race; Hochman in second in semi-final results," March 6, 2024
- ↑ California law allows for in-person voter registration at designated locations in the 14 days before and including Election Day. The state refers to this process as Same Day Voter Registration.
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Voting In-Person," accessed March 20, 2024
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
- ↑ 12,072 signatures can be provided in lieu of the filing fee
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