Progressive LA district attorney far behind challenger weeks ahead of Election Day: Poll

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon is seeking a second term in office but is far behind challenger Nathan Hochman in a new poll.

A Los Angeles Times-UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released Tuesday showed Hochman leading Gascon, 51%-21%, with 28% of those surveyed saying they were undecided. Gascon faced an attempted recall during his term, which failed to qualify for the ballot, after dissatisfaction over his job prosecuting crime in the state's most populous county.

Hochman has gained ground since the last survey from the pollster in August, which showed him leading Gascon 45%-20%. Mark DiCamillo, director of polling for the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, said the October poll shows the contest is "not even close" and that it "appears to be Hochman's race to lose."

In the March jungle primary, Gascon finished first, with only 25.2% of the vote, while Hochman finished second, with 15.9% of the vote, ahead of various other candidates seeking to oust the first-term district attorney.

Gascon, speaking to the Los Angeles Times last week, downplayed his status in the polls, arguing that Election Day results are the only polls that matter.

“I feel very bullish about the final outcome,” Gascon said. “When people ask me about the polls, I say it’s the poll on Election Day that really counts.”

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Hochman commented on the poll on X, saying that while it is "good news," he is not getting "overconfident."

"New poll shows that I have a 30% lead over my unpopular opponent in the DA's race. That's good news, but this is not the time to get overconfident. I will do my part, and work hard every day for the next 28 days to win this election," Hochman wrote on X.