DA George Gascón faces 9 challengers in one of the largest primary fields in LA history
When Jackie Lacey sought a second term as Los Angeles' top prosecutor in 2016, she wound up running unopposed.
The man who ousted her from office, George Gascón, has a much steeper hill to climb to win reelection next year.
During his first term in office, Gascón has frequently been at odds with his own prosecutors and law enforcement, who say his policies aimed at reducing mass incarceration and racially disparate outcomes in the criminal justice system have led to spikes in violence. Data show the violent crime rate is trending down, but some experts have cautioned against making connections between short-term shifts in the crime rate and a prosecutor's policies.
Gascón's positions have motivated one of the largest primary fields in the history of the office, with a mix of former federal prosecutors, county judges and deputy district attorneys taking a run at the self-described "godfather of progressive prosecutors" in 2024.
District attorney's elections have become more competitive across the nation in recent years as reform-minded . Gascón's 2020 tilt with Lacey saw that drew endorsements from presidential candidates.
