After the avalanche: Nathan Hochman becomes the 44th district attorney of LA County

The long 2024 election cycle has drawn to a close, and former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman is set to be sworn into office as the 44th District Attorney of Los Angeles County. As of Election Night, Hochman has defeated incumbent District Attorney George Gascon by a margin of 61% to 39%. And while these numbers may change slightly as votes continue to be tabulated over the coming weeks, this was and will remain a landslide.

Campaigning on a platform calling for criminal justice reform, Gascon was elected to the position of District Attorney in 2020 by ousting incumbent Jackie Lacey. Though many of his so-called reforms were doomed from the outset, others might have succeeded had they been implemented thoughtfully, incrementally, and moderately. But instead, Gascon attempted to tear down the entire criminal justice system immediately upon taking office, seemingly unconcerned about the adverse consequences of his actions.

Gascon unwisely relied on a small band of advisors who seemed to be single-mindedly hostile to law enforcement. He did himself a grave disservice by failing to at least consider other approaches to criminal prosecution, instead limiting his exposure to a very narrow and extreme vision of how the District Attorney's Office should function. As illustrated by the election results, the public did not find Gascon's reforms to be "progressive." Rather, they were perceived as directly contributing to the well documented and well publicized rise in crime rates.

From the time he entered the contest nearly two years ago, Hochman demonstrated considerable political skills in navigating a difficult path to success. He ran a disciplined and focused campaign, taking full advantage of Gascon's unpopularity. Hochman captured 16% of the vote in the Primary to place second among a large field of 12 candidates, enough to proceed to the General Election against Gascon.

Money and endorsements -- the bread and butter of modern politics -- were significant factors in Hochman's solid performance. As widely expected after Gascon's anemic showing in the Primary, -- his 25% of the vote was the lowest total for any incumbent in a Countywide race in Los Angeles history -- Gascon was unable to match Hochman's fundraising. Final figures are not yet available, but it appears from preliminary reporting that Hochman outraised Gascon by a factor of more than eight-to-one over the course of the election cycle.

Principles aside, the instinct for self-preservation is one of the few things that transcends ideological divides. So, while Gascon received the official endorsement of the Democratic Party, there was never any sign that the Party was willing to expend much political capital on him. At an individual level, most Democratic officials steered far clear of Gascon's struggling campaign. Meanwhile, Republican-turned-Independent Hochman was able to secure enough prominent endorsements, including those from many Democrats, to make him an acceptable alternative to voters in a County where Democrats outnumber Republicans 52% to 18%.

As many political analysts have astutely observed, it is not easy being District Attorney of the largest County in the nation. As its chief prosecutor, Hochman will preside over a sprawling, diverse jurisdiction of 10 million residents -- one-quarter of California's population. He will have more constituents than 40 of the 50 U.S. Governors.

If Hochman governs successfully, he will distinguish himself from many predecessors who had markedly troubled tenures. Some lost bids for re-election; others resigned; still others died in office. Indeed, voters unseated five of the last six District Attorneys, with none of those races being particularly close.

When he takes office on Dec. 2, Hochman will have a strong mandate to restore law and order in a County that has been reeling for the past four years from a nasty spike in criminal activity. His overwhelming victory can only be interpreted as a stern rebuke of Gascon's soft-on-crime policies.

Hochman should follow through on his commitment to be tough but fair, and to manage the District Attorney's Office in a thoughtful, open-minded, and transparent manner. This will require him to assemble a broad range of stakeholders to help formulate the priorities that his administration will pursue, ideally resulting in a more balanced, centrist approach to protecting the public.