George Gascon’s Sinking Poll Numbers
Zack Smith / Cully Stimson /
If George Gascon, the rogue district attorney for Los Angeles County, had Scooby-Doo as a dog, he would be hearing “ruh roh” around the house a lot these days. That’s because Gascon’s radical policies are infecting the electorate, and they don’t like it. That’s why there is a recall effort to boot him from office, and a poll that recently came out shows that Gascon is in trouble.
Gascon is an archetype rogue prosecutor: pro-criminal, anti-victim, and anti-police. These rogue prosecutors adorn themselves in poll-tested, feel-good language like “reimagining prosecution” and other devoid-from-reality phrases, like “mass incarceration,” “decarceral” (i.e. which is code for “let everyone out of jail and prison”), and “ending cash bail” and other such blather.
A July 28 poll of 650 Los Angeles County likely voters showed that Gascon is 17 points underwater. In other words, 34% of those surveyed had an unfavorable impression of Gascon, and only 17% had a favorable impression.
But that’s not the only bad news for Gascon. When asked about Gascon’s job performance, 40% of those surveyed disapproved, and only 25% approved. He’s 15 points upside down in this important performance metric.
But it’s these likely voters’ responses to two other questions that should really be concerning for Gascon.
First, after being informed of the pro- and anti-recall Gascon messages, 55% of those surveyed would vote to recall Gascon, while only 23% would vote not to recall him. Here, he is 23 points upside down. Only 13% were unsure.
Second, and perhaps more troubling for Gascon, is the fact that 61% of those surveyed said they would not vote to reelect Gascon at the next election and would vote for a different candidate to replace him. Only 21% said they would vote to reelect him. He’s 40 points upside down. Only 17% were unsure.
And lest you think this was some partisan-skewed poll, 53% of those surveyed were Democrat voters, 24% were independent voters, and only 17% were Republican voters.
And these same voters would vote “no” to recalling California Gov. Gavin Newsom by an 8-point margin—49% to 41%.
Those seeking to recall Gascon still face an uphill battle. It’s the nature of recall elections. But these numbers should rightfully be concerning for Gascon. Voters in Los Angeles and elsewhere are tired of the pro-criminal, anti-victim policies of rogue prosecutors like Gascon. And the numbers are starting to show it.
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