Twelve candidates are running in the nonpartisan primary for Los Angeles County District Attorney on March 5, 2024. Five candidates lead in endorsements and local media attention: incumbent George Gascón, Jeff Chemerinsky, Jonathan Hatami, Nathan Hochman, and Eric Siddall.
According to LAist, the election is “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.”
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.” Gascón says his policies have made county residents safer and he will keep them in place if re-elected: “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.” Before his election as Los Angeles County District Attorney, Gascón served eight years as San Francisco District Attorney. He earlier served as chief of police in San Francisco and in Mesa, Arizona.
