Soros-backed prosecutor George Gascón was ousted as Californians backed down on crime reduction reforms

California voters have begun reversing the Golden State’s soft-on-crime experiment, ousting progressive Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón and reinstating some penalties for drugs and theft.

Gascón, with 59 percent of votes counted, was more than 20 points behind his challenger, former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, when the Associated Press called the race early Wednesday morning. Hochman previously ran for California attorney general as a Republican, but filed for that race as an independent. The “shift to the right across America is heartbreaking,” Gascón said in a concession statement.

Gascón, whose first election campaign in 2020 was backed by liberal mega-donor George Soros, faced criticism during his time in office that his soft-on-crime policies, such as eliminating cash bail, had led to a rise in crime. He has also drawn criticism for his treatment of victims, including suppressing evidence from parole authorities that released violent offenders to reoffend.

Voters statewide also passed a ballot measure that repeals Prop. 47, the decades-old law that eliminates criminal penalties for shoplifters who steal items worth $950 or less and for possession of most hard drugs. The Associated Press called the measure Prop. 36 just before midnight, when it received more than 70 percent support with nearly 42 percent of the vote.

While it doesn’t completely repeal the 2014 law and requires treatment rather than prison for some drug offenses, California Democrats and their pro-crime donors sought to ensure her defeat and keep her off the ballot. However, Prop. 36 allows prosecutors to charge triple offenders with a felony and warns dealers that they could be charged with murder if their drugs kill someone.

Prop. 36’s success is a political loss for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D.), who along with the ACLU and major unions, including the powerful California Teachers Association, sought to keep it off the ballot.

Tuesday’s results are the latest – and strongest – signal that Californians across the spectrum are linking the rise in thefts and violent crime to the billionaire-backed overhaul of the criminal justice system that eliminated penalties, cleared prisons and installed lenient prosecutors in big cities . They follow San Francisco’s overwhelming approval in March of measures to expand police powers and strip benefits for drug users, as well as the city’s 2022 recall of its own anti-crime prosecutor, Chesa Boudin.

“It’s been a long period of frustration and unease and the realization that some of the reforms just don’t match reality – that you can’t just abolish the criminal justice system and replace it with voluntary social services and then think that’s going to be the case.” have the same impact on public safety and vulnerable people,” said Hannah Meyers, director of public safety policy at the Manhattan Institute.

Gascón’s defeat came after months of polls predicted his political demise. He survived a March primary when a crowded field of challengers helped him solidify his support. After succeeding Vice President Kamala Harris as San Francisco’s district attorney, Gascón moved to Los Angeles and was elected its top cop in 2020 with millions of dollars from Soros and other soft-crime donors.

This cycle, however, Gascón received no funding from Soros after the prosecutor received low public approval – although he survived a recall campaign in 2022. Deputy prosecutors have also accused Gascón of retaliation against critics. His “toxic” management contributed to the hollowing out of his department and a major backlog of cases as crime skyrocketed in Los Angeles.

Criminals he released without bail committed repeated crimes. In one high-profile case, a woman took part in a flash mob attack the day after her release.

In his concession, Gascón said he was “deeply proud” of the results of his one-year term as Los Angeles district attorney.

In Oakland, another Soros-backed district attorney, Pamela Price, is facing recall. As of Wednesday afternoon, the progressive prosecutor has 30 points with 39 percent of the votes counted.

Price, who has been in office for less than two years, pushed plea deals that shortened the sentences of convicted murderers and angered her voters. Last month, she offered a man accused of four murders a deal that could see him released as early as next year.

Like Gascón, Price has been accused of retaliation against critics in her department. In June, she faced a lawsuit alleging discrimination against Asians.

Price won her 2022 election with the support of Gascón donors and progressive politicians.