Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

News

Now We're Sure: Lacey And Gascon Head To A Runoff In LA's DA Race

The candidates for L.A. County District Attorney: Former San Francisco DA George Gascon (L), incumbent DA Jackie Lacey (C) and former federal public defender Rachel Rossi. (Photo credits, L-R: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Damian Dovarganes/AP; Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Patrisse Cullors)
()

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

Almost all the votes have been counted, and we can now report that Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey and former San Francisco DA George Gascon will meet again in a November runoff.

The Registrar’s office estimates there are only about 20,000 votes left to be counted, and with more than 1.7 million votes already tallied, there’s no longer a mathematical possibility for Lacey to attain the 50%-plus-one she would need to win the race outright.

Lacey stands at just under 49%, while Gascon has 28%. Former public defender Rachel Rossi finished in third place, with 23%.

Here are the exact numbers as of Friday:

Support for LAist comes from
CandidateVotes%
Jackie Lacey
862,30348.71
George Gascon499,18228.20
Rachel Rossi408,68923.09

“I am honored that hundreds of thousands of voters made their voices heard to fight for a compassionate criminal justice system that protects crime victims and prioritizes treatment over incarceration for those with mental illness,” Lacey said in a statement.

“In these uncertain times of global crisis, it’s all the more important that we have a real conversation about keeping our community safe, and I look forward to continuing that conversation in November,” she said.

For his part, Gascon said in a statement that “We can no longer afford -- either socially or economically — for our barometer of justice to simply revolve around punishment. This dated approach has come at untold costs to victims, taxpayers and rehabilitation, and it has not made us safer.”

He said his record as San Francisco DA “demonstrates that we can reduce crime, incarceration, and system costs simultaneously, and if elected in November we will do it again.”

GO DEEPER:

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist