During the election campaign, Americans could eliminate prosecutors who take a soft approach to crime

DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION –Several left-wing district attorneys could lose their jobs after Tuesday’s election as voters express frustration over an explosion in crime in their communities, including three California jurisdictions.

With many progressive prosecutors on the ballot this election, polling and fundraising data show that voters across the country are using their ballots and wallets to reject crime-reducing policies, according to multiple reports.

According to a Gallup poll released Oct. 9, 75% of voters say crime is very or somewhat important to their decision in the 2024 election.

Alameda County, California

Pamela Price, district attorney for Alameda County, California, is facing recall as crime rates have risen since she took office in January 2023. This year, car thefts more than doubled, robberies increased by 19%, burglaries increased by 14% and thefts under $200 increased by 31%, according to county statistics.

Additionally, Price received support from left-wing billionaire George Soros during her failed 2018 campaign and received $700,000 from the Soros-affiliated California Justice and Public Safety PAC.

Price recently granted lenient plea deals to Dijon Holifield and Delonzo Logwood, who were charged in a series of murders in Oakland in 2008, according to the Berkeley Scanner. Logwood had two of three murder charges dropped, while Holifield was charged with manslaughter. He has already served 12 of his 13 prison sentences and is due to be released next year.

“These gang members wanted to be known as the most violent gangsters in Oakland,” Stacie Pettigrew, lead prosecutor in the case who resigned after Price took office, told the Scanner. “It would have been resolved by a jury trial and verdict if we were allowed to proceed. But instead she gave them the deal of a lifetime and it’s coming out next year.”

Price also gave Benicia Knapps a plea deal after she shot security guard Blake Mohs at a hardware store in April 2023 while trying to steal something, according to San Francisco’s KRON 4. According to NBC Bay Area, life expectancy is 19 years instead of 19 years.

Her getaway driver, David Guillory, will only serve seven years instead of 16 years for child endangerment, aiding and abetting and evading law enforcement, according to NBC Bay Area.

According to Bay Area media outlet KQED, the recall campaign outspent the recall campaign’s opponents by almost three times.

Los Angeles County

As Price tries to fend off a recall in Alameda County, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon faces a similarly difficult challenge.

According to Politico, Gascon has struggled in the polls and trails independent challenger Nathan Hochman by 30 points. According to CalMatters, under Gascon, Los Angeles County saw a 12% increase in violent crime and a 15% increase in property crime from 2021 to 2023.

Gascony is also known for offering lenient deals to violent criminals.

For example, Gascon offered a deal to 61-year-old Nancy Jackson, who killed three family members in her home in 2018. Jackson faced a possible sentence of 75 years to life in prison, according to Los Angeles-based station ABC 7. The deal reduced her sentence to just 20 years.

Gascon also received Soros funding and received a $4.5 million grant to support his 2020 campaign.

“The people of this state are not getting justice. There will be more justice for the criminals than for the people who suffer from the crimes committed by criminals,” Terry Carter, a family member of the victims, told ABC 7.

Another example involved Leroy McCrary, for whom Gascon agreed to accept a three-year suspended sentence for armed robbery, after which McCrary shot tourist Patricia McKay during another robbery in July while on probation.

San Francisco

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins is seeking to defend her seat against progressive challenger Ryan Khojasteh.

Khojasteh worked for former District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who was recalled by voters.

Jenkins, who previously worked in the district attorney’s office, was appointed by San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, following Boudin’s recall in 2022.

Jenkins was a harsh critic of her predecessor, saying Boudin’s policies were directly responsible for San Francisco’s crime problem. In response, Jenkins made it a priority to implement harsher penalties, causing the number of convictions to rise in 2023 for the first time in eight years, according to the city.

In contrast, Khojasteh advocates for a more progressive platform, including reducing incarceration rates, providing “culturally relevant” training for police officers and increasing oversight, according to his campaign website. However, at the same time, he has tried to distance himself from Boudin, saying he did not seek Boudin’s support, according to an interview with Mission Local in June.

Gascon and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, another Soros-funded prosecutor, has endorsed Khojasteh, according to his campaign website.

According to the California Globe, Jenkins has raised more than three times more for her campaign than Khojasteh. Jenkins continued to become popular after succeeding Boudin, reaching 56% approval as of June 2022, compared to 30% for Boudin, according to the San Francisco Standard.

“California cities are the direct result of a law enforcement philosophy that is destructive and antithetical to the possibility of civil peace,” Heather Mac Donald, a Thomas W. Smith fellow at the Manhattan Institute, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “It is [a philosophy] This is based on the idea that the criminal justice system is racist when black people are disproportionately arrested and incarcerated. But the reason there are racial disparities in the criminal justice system is because black crime rates are so high.”

Huy Nguyen, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association, believes district attorneys’ offices are important to law enforcement because they largely determine how officers prioritize crimes and enforce laws.

“As the top person in law enforcement in the county, you must establish a path that law enforcement officers in every city can follow to find justice for the people in their community,” Nguyen said.

Maricopa County, Arizona

In Arizona, Democrat Tamika Wooten is running against incumbent Republican Rachel Mitchell in the race for Maricopa County district attorney. According to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, Mitchell caused the county’s crime rate to decrease by 26% from 2021 to 2022.

Mitchell has received support from the Fraternal Order of Police as well as the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association.

According to her campaign website, Wooten’s platform focuses on “alternatives” to incarceration for “minor crimes” to reduce the number of people incarcerated. She was endorsed by state Rep. and Senate candidate Ruben Gallego and Tempe Mayor Corey Woods, also a fellow Democrat.

Harris County, Texas

In Harris County, Texas, Sean Teare defeated incumbent District Attorney Kim Ogg in the Democratic primary, according to the Houston Chronicle. Teare faces Republican Dan Simons.

According to his campaign website, Teare’s campaign focused on protecting “reproductive rights,” reducing sentences for drug crimes and enacting bail reform. According to the Chronicle, Teare received $1.7 million in donations in 2023, with a significant amount coming from the Soros-backed Texas Justice and Public Safety PAC.

In addition, Ogg was previously supported by Soros.

Khojasteh and Price’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Gascon’s office had no comment. The Wooten and Teare campaigns could not be reached for comment.

Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.