How L.A.’s progressive ‘godfather’ wound up struggling to keep his job as D.A.

Los Angeles Times | October 24, 2024
  • George Gascón is trailing his challenger, former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, in recent polls, and much of the incumbent’s support from 2020 has vanished.
  • Hochman has unleashed a media blitz blaming Gascón for high-profile crimes, but the county race reflects a broader shift among voters across the state.
  • Gascón has tried to maintain a positive spin, noting that he came from behind to defeat then-Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey in 2020. This year’s election is on Nov. 5.

It’s a Saturday morning in late September, and Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón’s voice is hoarse as he struggles to film a TikTok video.

A staffer rushes to grab a water bottle as Gascón alternates between explaining his position on the death penalty and repeatedly trying to sync his voice and awkwardly gesticulate along with a viral audio snippet as one of his campaign’s teenage interns captures it all on her cellphone camera.

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