Nathan Hochman advances to Los Angeles County district attorney runoff against George Gascón

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman has advanced to a runoff against Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, one of the country’s most progressive prosecutors.

Gascón and Hochman will compete in November in the race to lead an agency that prosecutes cases in the most populous county in the U.S.

Hochman was a one-time California attorney general candidate. Running as a Republican in 2022, he lost to Democratic candidate Rob Bonta. Hochman’s district attorney campaign says he raised $2 million in his bid to unseat Gascón.

To win the primary outright in California, a candidate needs to get a 50%-plus-one vote. Anything less triggers a runoff race between the top two candidates in November regardless of party.

Political experts said Gascón was expected to advance from the nonpartisan primary but are less optimistic about his chances in the fall.

Hochman emerged from 11 challengers running against Gascón, who was elected on a criminal justice reform platform in 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police. Gascón faced a recall attempt within his first 100 days and a second attempt later, which both failed to get on the ballot.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> OpenAI has ‘full confidence’ in CEO Sam Altman after investigation, reinstates him to board </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> San Francisco mayor touts possibilities after voters expand police powers, gets tough on drug users