George Soros missing in action as ‘Soros DA’ George Gascon’s reelection bid flounders

Even George Soros appears to be finished with Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon.

The billionaire Democratic donor who helped sweep Mr. Gascon into office in 2020 is nowhere to be found as the soft-on-crime prosecutor lurches toward defeat in his bid for a second term.

The Soros-funded California Justice & Public Safety PAC has spent zero dollars on Mr. Gascon’s reelection bid, according to the latest campaign finance filings, even though a poll released earlier this month found the incumbent trailing challenger Nate Hochman by a whopping 30 percentage points.

In 2020, Mr. Gascon waged a come-from-behind victory against District Attorney Jackie Lacey, buoyed by the endorsement of Black Lives Matter and $4.6 million from the Soros-financed PAC in the final two months.

Soros spokesperson Michael Vachon denied that the megadonor had abandoned the Democrat. “Mr. Soros’ focus this cycle is on national elections, particularly the presidential contest,” he said.

“This reflects the unprecedented stakes facing the nation and should not be misconstrued as an abandonment of Gascon or other local leaders who are implementing effective and humane approaches to public safety,” Mr. Vachon said in an email. “Los Angeles County District Attorney Gascon has George Soros’ endorsement.”

That endorsement alone is unlikely to prevent Mr. Gascon from becoming the latest “Soros DA” to be ushered out of office. Voters are turning against his anti-punishment policies amid rising flash mob robberies, carjackings, organized retail theft and homelessness.

“Gascon was elected at a very unique moment, shortly after George Floyd’s death, when voters here were especially focused on issues of criminal justice reform,” said Dan Schnur, a former Republican Party strategist who now teaches at the University of California, Berkeley.

Mr. Gascon’s efforts to reform the system include implementing a zero-bail policy; declining to try juveniles as adults, no matter how heinous the crime; refusing to seek the death penalty; dismissing marijuana cases; banning sentencing enhancements; and resentencing long-serving convicts, in some cases resulting in their release.

Times change, but Mr. Gascon has not.

“Over the last four years, even deep-blue California has undergone somewhat of a course correction and is now focusing more on traditional forms of law enforcement against criminals,” Mr. Schnur said. “But Gascon has not adjusted, and he is paying the price.”

Mr. Gascon, 70, isn’t the only one caught in the public safety blowback. Polls show strong support for Proposition 36, a tough-on-crime state measure that would reverse Proposition 47, the 2014 initiative that reclassified thefts of less than $950 from felonies to misdemeanors.

Mr. Gascon co-authored Proposition 47 during his tenure as San Francisco district attorney before his move to Los Angeles.

The candidate’s fall from grace is the latest blow to Mr. Soros’ decadelong effort to rework the criminal justice system by installing defendant-friendly prosecutors, often former defense attorneys, in the name of prioritizing social justice over punishment.

Other marquee prosecutors shown the door include San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who was recalled; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who lost her primary and was later convicted of perjury; and St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who resigned under pressure.

“They’re losing some of their darlings that were the face of the movement,” said Charles “Cully” Stimson, senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation and co-author of “Rogue Prosecutors: How Radical Soros Lawyers Are Destroying America’s Communities.”

“The only two big names that are still around, and who are arguably the worst of the worst, are Gascon and Larry Krasner in Philadelphia.”

Despite the public’s shift in priorities, Mr. Gascon has stuck to his agenda. He touts his aggressive charging of hate crimes and police in officer-involved shootings, his 14 exonerations of “wrongly incarcerated” people and his removal of 36 inmates from death row.

“As Los Angeles District Attorney, I will make our neighborhoods safer, hold police accountable to the communities they serve, and reform our justice system so it works for everyone,” Mr. Gascon said in a campaign statement.

He has argued that his office prosecutes violent crime at the same rate as his predecessor and 92% of cases of organized retail theft. Mr. Hochman counters that police have largely given up on the prosecutor’s office.

“Police aren’t bringing in the cases because they know up front that the DA’s blanket policy is not to prosecute,” said Mr. Hochman, 60, a former federal prosecutor and former Republican now running as an independent.

Mr. Gascon “has lost the trust of his own prosecutors, law enforcement, victims and the public,” Mr. Hochman said at the Oct. 8 debate hosted by Fox11 in Los Angeles.

Indeed, the prosecutor’s tenure has been marked with strife, including multiple lawsuits filed by the Association of Deputy District Attorneys and two campaigns to recall him. Both failed to qualify for the ballot.

Mr. Gascon made national news last week when he filed a motion recommending the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez, the brothers serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 1989 murders of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez.

The brothers have alleged that their father sexually abused them, but a judge refused to allow in most of the abuse evidence during their trial. Others have argued that the brothers were motivated by greed, pointing to their lavish spending spree after their parents’ deaths.

“Since the original prosecution of the Menendez brothers more than nearly three decades ago, our office has gained a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding sexual violence,” Mr. Gascon said in a statement last week. “We recognize that it is a widespread issue impacting individuals of all gender identities, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to support all victims as they navigate the long-lasting effects of such trauma.”

The announcement, which followed a Netflix series sympathetic to the brothers, put Mr. Gascon back in the spotlight. Whether it changes the campaign’s direction is another question.

The UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released Oct. 8 found Mr. Gascon trailing by 51% to 21%, with 28% undecided.

“The Menendez resentencing may have made a difference in a close race,” said Mr. Schnur, “but it’s unlikely to have nearly enough impact to save Gascon.”