A tally of ballots early Wednesday morning showed Hochman with a commanding lead with roughly 61% of the vote, while Gascón has 39%.
"It's a big job, but I am absolutely energized by the fact that I've got over 750 prosecutors who are ready to get to work," Hochman told Eyewitness News Tuesday night. "I've got tens of thousands of law enforcement officers who will no longer say 'my hands are tied.'"
Gascón won election as Los Angeles County district attorney in 2020 on promises to implement criminal justice reform in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Four years later he faces a tough-on-crime challenger who says such policies have gone too far.
Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, calls himself a "hard middle" candidate who would reject both mass incarceration and "decarceration" policies and the "public safety failure" of Gascón's tenure the past four years.
He advanced out of a primary field of 11 challengers and spent most of the campaign attacking Gascón policies that he says led to increased crime and a lack of consequences for juvenile offenders. During debates he spotlighted rising violent crime in the county, a trend also seen statewide and at the national level.
"The voters of Los Angeles County have spoken and have said enough is enough of D.A. Gascón's pro-criminal extreme policies; they look forward to a safer future," Hochman said in a statement early Wednesday. "As D.A., I look forward to representing all of the people, whether they voted for me or not, since their safety will be my responsibility."
LA County DA's race: Nathan Hochman takes lead over George Gascón
Hochman's projected victory reflects growing discontent in the state with progressive district attorneys who have pushed criminal justice reform. Previously there were two attempts to recall Gascón that failed to qualify for the ballot.
When Gascón first ran for office, he vowed he would not seek the death penalty in prosecutions, charge juveniles as adults or ask for sentencing enhancements that can drastically lengthen prison time. Endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti and other prominent officials, he unseated incumbent District Attorney Jackie Lacey.
"We have had about 30 some years to get where we are today. It would be unrealistic for me or anyone to expect that in four years, we're going to turn everything around," Gascón said Wednesday night. "Including when you consider that in those four years we had two and a half years of a pandemic, which brought so many things to a halt. Definitely, in order for this work to be able to continue to develop, we would need more time."
Gascón co-authored a ballot measure passed by California voters in 2014 that reclassified certain low-level drug and property crimes as misdemeanors instead of felonies. Also Tuesday, voters approved a measure to partly roll back that law, making shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders again and increasing penalties for some drug charges.
Despite Gascón being a former Los Angeles police officer, Hochman had the support of local police unions.
He was also endorsed by victims' advocacy groups; former district attorney Jackie Lacey, whom Gascón defeated in 2020; developer and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso; and more than 70 current and former county elected officials. Hochman raised nearly $4 million for the campaign.
A Southern California native, Hochman emphasized his past prosecutorial experience as assistant U.S. attorney in California's Central District. He has also practiced as a private defense attorney.
He previously ran unsuccessfully for California attorney general as a Republican, but was an independent in this race and describes himself as a lifelong centrist.
KABC-TV contributed to this report.