Los Angeles voters appear poised to oust embattled District Attorney George Gascón.
According to a new poll from the Los Angeles Times and the UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies, Gascón is underwater by 30%.
Driving the news: Gascón was elected in 2020 as part of a wave of progressive district attorney elections across the nation.
- The former San Francisco District Attorney received millions of dollars in funding from backers such as George Soros when he took out incumbent Jackie Lacy four years ago.
The big picture: According to the poll, Gascón only has 21% of support from Los Angeles voters.
- His opponent, Nathan Hochman, is up by a wide margin just weeks before the election, at 51%.
- That means the 28% of undecided voters would not even be able to reelect Gascón if they all voted for him in November.
Flashback: Hochman ran for California Attorney General in 2022 as the Republican nominee against Rob Bonta, ultimately losing to the Democrat by nearly 20 points.
- But he placed second in the March primary for Los Angeles District Attorney, beating out 10 other candidates to secure the runoff against Gascón.
Go deeper: Hochman is also holding a significant lead in his war chest over Gascón as the advertising blitz pushes through the next month.
- The latest reported totals had Hochman with $1.1 million in the bank. Gascón only had $48,000.
What they’re saying: Gascón brushed off the dire outlook of the poll in a comment to the LA Times.
- “I feel very bullish about the final outcome,” Gascón said. “When people ask me about the polls, I say it’s the poll on election day that really counts.”
