LOS ANGELES– Former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman appears to be heading for victory in his bid to unseat incumbent Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.

A tally of early Wednesday morning voting showed Hochman ahead with roughly 61% of the vote, while Gascón had 39%.

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“It’s a big job, but it certainly energizes me to have over 750 prosecutors ready to work,” Hochman told Eyewitness News Tuesday night. “I have tens of thousands of law enforcement officers who will no longer say ‘my hands are tied’.”

Gascon He was elected Los Angeles County District Attorney in 2020 on a promise to implement criminal justice reform following the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Four years later, he faces a tough-on-crime opponent who says such policies go too far.

Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, describes himself as a “hard middle” candidate who would reject both mass incarceration and “incarceration” policies and the “public safety failure” of Gascón’s tenure over the past four years.

He advanced from a primary field of 11 opponents and spent much of the campaign attacking Gascón’s policies, which he said had led to increased crime and lack of consequences for juvenile offenders. During the discussions, he pointed out the increasing violent crimes in the county; This trend is also seen at the statewide and national level.

“Los Angeles County voters have spoken out about DA Gascón’s extreme pro-crime policies and said enough is enough; they look forward to a safer future,” Hochman said in a statement early Wednesday. he said. “As prosecutor, I look forward to representing all people, whether they voted for me or not, because their safety will be my responsibility.”

Hochman’s projected victory reflects growing discontent with progressive district attorneys who have been pushing criminal justice reform in the state. Two previous attempts to recall Gascón failed to make it to the ballot.

When Gascón first ran for office, he promised not to seek the death penalty in prosecutions, charge juveniles as adults, or seek enhancements to sentences that could greatly extend prison time. Governor Gavin Newsom, with the support of then-Mayor Eric Garcetti and other prominent officials, fired incumbent District Attorney Jackie Lacey.

“We had nearly 30 years to get to where we are today. It would be unrealistic to expect me or anyone else to turn things around in four years,” Gascón said Wednesday night. “Considering that in these four years we have had two and a half years of a pandemic that brought a lot of things to a halt, we definitely need more time for this business to continue to develop.”

Gascón co-authored a ballot measure passed by California voters in 2014 that reclassified some low-level drug and property crimes as misdemeanors instead of felonies. Also on Tuesday Voters approved a measure that partially rolled back that law, made shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders, and increased penalties for some drug charges.

Even though Gascón was a former Los Angeles police officer, Hochman had the support of local police unions.

It was also supported by victims’ advocacy groups; Jackie Lacey, the former district attorney whom Gascón defeated in 2020; developer and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso; and more than 70 current and former county elected officials. Hochman raised nearly $4 million for the campaign.

Hochman, a Southern California native, highlighted his past prosecutorial experience as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California. He also worked as a private defense attorney.

He had previously run for California attorney general as a Republican, but in this race he was an independent and described himself as a lifelong centrist.

KABC-TV contributed to this report.