California voters have begun unwinding the Golden State's soft-on-crime experiment, ousting Los Angeles's progressive district attorney George Gascón and restoring some criminal penalties for drugs and theft.
Gascón trailed his challenger, former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, by more than 20 points with 59 percent of the votes counted when the Associated Press called the race early Wednesday morning. Hochman previously ran for California attorney general as a Republican but registered as an independent for this race. The "rightward shift across America is heartbreaking," Gascón said in a concession statement.
Gascón, whose first campaign in 2020 was backed by liberal megadonor George Soros, spent his term facing criticism that his soft-on-crime policies, like ending cash bail, led to a crime surge. He has also drawn fire for his treatment of victims, including suppressing evidence from parole boards that have released violent criminals to offend again.
Statewide voters also passed a ballot measure that scales back Prop. 47, the decade-old law that wiped criminal penalties for shoplifters who steal items worth $950 or less and for holding most hard drugs. The Associated Press called the measure, Prop. 36, just before midnight when it had garnered more than 70 percent support with nearly 42 percent of the vote.
Even though it doesn’t fully repeal the 2014 law and requires treatment rather than lock-ups for some drug offenses, California Democrats and their soft-on-crime donors tried to assure its defeat and keep it off the ballot. Prop. 36 does, however, allow prosecutors to charge three-time offenders with a felony and warns dealers that they could be charged with murder if their drugs kill someone.
Prop. 36’s success is a political loss for Governor Gavin Newsom (D.), who tried to keep it off the ballot, along with the ACLU and major unions, including the powerful California Teachers Association.
Tuesday’s results are the latest—and strongest—signal that Californians across the spectrum are connecting the rise in thefts and violent crime with the billionaire-backed criminal justice transformation that repealed penalties, emptied prisons, and installed lenient prosecutors in big cities. They follow San Francisco’s overwhelming approval in March of measures expanding police powers and yanking welfare benefits from drug users, as well as the city’s 2022 recall of its own soft-on-crime prosecutor Chesa Boudin.
"This has been a long time building of frustration and discomfort and acknowledging that some of the reforms just don’t mesh with reality—that you can’t just peel away the criminal justice system and replace it with voluntary social services and think it will have the same outcomes for public safety and vulnerable humans," said Hannah Meyers, director of public safety policy at the Manhattan Institute.
Gascón’s defeat came after months of polling predicted his political demise. He survived a March primary when a crowded field of challengers helped him consolidate support. After succeeding Vice President Kamala Harris as San Francisco’s district attorney, Gascón moved to Los Angeles and was elected as the top cop there in 2020 with millions of dollars from Soros and other soft-on-crime donors.
This cycle, however, Gascón didn’t receive funding from Soros after the prosecutor suffered low public approvals—even though he survived a 2022 recall effort. Deputy prosecutors have also accused Gascón of retaliating against critics. His "toxic" management helped hollow out his department, leaving a deep backlog of cases as crime skyrocketed in Los Angeles.
Criminals he released without bail have gone on to commit repeat offenses. In one high-profile case, a woman joined a flash mob robbery one day after her release.
In his concession, Gascón said he was "deeply proud" of the results of his single-term tenure as Los Angeles's district attorney.
In Oakland, another Soros-backed district attorney, Pamela Price, is facing a recall. As of Wednesday afternoon, the progressive prosecutor is down 30 points with 39 percent of the votes counted.
Price, who's been in office for less than two years, has pushed plea deals that shortened sentences of convicted murderers and enraged her constituents. Last month, she gave a plea deal to a man charged with four murders that could free him as early as next year.
Like Gascón, Price was also accused of retaliating against critics in her department. She was hit with a lawsuit in June alleging that she discriminated against Asians.
Price won her 2022 election with the support of Gascón donors and progressive politicians.
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