Many district attorney elections have flown under the radar for Republicans, while Democrats advocating criminal justice reform dominated critical local races. High crime rates and public discontent over perceived leniency toward criminals have shifted the political landscape, reports the Washington Examiner. Republicans are “absolutely” investing more in district attorneys’ races in areas where progressives and Democratic megadonor George Soros have historically invested, says Parker Thayer of the Capital Research Center. Even in races where a conservative candidate hardly stands a chance, some Democratic candidates are directly challenging the progressive policies that have defined recent years of the criminal justice reform movement, policies that critics say have failed to keep communities safe.
Polling data show a significant divide between Republican and Democratic voters on the issue of crime. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 81% of former President Trump's supporters say the criminal justice system is “not tough enough,” compared to just 40% of Biden-Harris administration supporters. Nathan Hochman’s campaign against incumbent District Attorney George Gascon in Los Angeles County is a prime example . Hochman, a former federal prosecutor who ran a failed bid as a Republican for state attorney general in 2022, is positioning himself as a tough-on-crime candidate in the district attorney race, criticizing Gascon’s progressive policies for contributing to rising crime in the city. In San Francisco, the district attorney’s race is giving residents a choice between addressing the city’s crime problems or pivoting back to a policy platform that more closely resembles that of ousted District Attorney Chesa Boudin in 2022.Incumbent District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who replaced Boudin after his recall in 2022, faces a significant challenge from Ryan Khojasteh, a progressive attorney and former prosecutor who Jenkins fired after taking office.
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