02 Apr D.A. Poll: Hochman Begins General Election Campaign With Convincing Lead Over Gascon
LOS ANGELES / April 3, 2024 – Los Angeles County District Attorney candidate Nathan Hochman is starting the general election campaign with a significant lead over unpopular incumbent George Gascon, according to a new, detailed poll conducted March 24-26.
Hochman holds a near 2-to-1 lead among likely general election voters and has a significantly higher favorable-to-unfavorable rating than Gascon, who has been widely criticized for his management and policies that favor the interests of criminals over victims.
The poll of 817 likely voters in the November 2024 general election found that 44% intend to vote for Hochman, 23% for Gascon and 33% are undecided. Hochman has a massive lead among Republican and independent (No Party Preference) voters and is statistically tied with Gascon among Democratic voters (within the 3.4% margin of error). Hochman leads among Latino voters 2:1 and 3:1 among Asian voters.
Voters believe Gascon has failed the community on public safety, as crime has risen every year he’s been in office when compared to 2020, the year he was elected. Fewer than 1 in 10 voters feel safer since Gascon took office.
Gascon has an extremely low favorability rating. Just 18% of voters said they have favorable opinions of Gascon, while 47% view him unfavorably, the poll found. Gascon’s image is net-negative across the board, including among registered Democrats likely to vote in November (24% favorable, 37% unfavorable), according to the poll.
The results are not surprising considering Gascon received just 25.2% of the vote in the March 5 primary – the lowest percent received by an incumbent D.A. in Los Angeles County history. No incumbent D.A. with such a low percentage of the primary vote has ever been re-elected.
Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, U.S. Assistant Attorney General, President of the L.A. City Ethics Commission and defense attorney, has said he would reverse Gascon’s extreme, pro-criminal blanket policies on Day 1 of his administration and strive every day to restore public safety in L.A. County.
“This poll confirms what I have heard from the public for the past three years. They are tired of Gascon playing politics with public safety. Enough is enough,” Hochman said. “They want a District Attorney who will enforce the law, keep them safe and end the dysfunction in the D.A.’s Office. They want a leader who will motivate, not demoralize, the over 750 highly skilled prosecutors in the District Attorney’s Office and the tens of thousands of law enforcement officers who work every day to pursue justice. I will be that District Attorney, that leader.”
The poll found that Gascon’s anticipated false attacks on Hochman will have no impact on the election and are easily countered by presenting the facts about his candidacy.
More specifically, the poll tested Gascon’s message falsely tying Hochman to “Republican tough-on-crime tactics that will bring back the mass incarceration policies of the 1990s.” The poll found that not withstanding this message, Hochman maintained a substantial lead. After a simple rebuttal that Hochman is an independent (No Party Preference) with broad support who rejects extreme policies, Hochman’s lead jumped to 50% to 29%.
“Gascon can’t run on his experience since he has never personally prosecuted or defended a criminal case. He can’t run on his record, because violent and property crime have risen substantially each year he’s been in office compared to before he took office. So he’s left with trying to politicize the race and mislead the public about my beliefs, but that won’t work either,” Hochman said. “Gascon’s extreme criminal justice experiment has failed, and the public is ready for change. They expressed that in the March 5 primary and again in this poll. I look forward to becoming the next D.A. of Los Angeles County, standing up for crime victims, partnering with law enforcement and restoring the public’s trust.”
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