Hochman leads DA race fundraising

The race to replace Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón starts Monday, when the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk begins mailing vote-by-mail ballots to registered voters for the March 5 presidential primary election.

Gascon faces 11 challengers in his bid for a second term including several prosecutors in his own office. The list of challengers includes assistant US Attorney Jeff Chemerinsky; child abuse prosecutor Jonathan Hatami; criminal law attorney Nathan Hochman, who was the Republican candidate for state attorney general in the 2022 general election; cold case prosecutor LLoyd “Bobcat” Masson; Supervising District Attorney John McKinney; Head Deputy DA Maria Ramirez; and violent crimes prosecutor Eric Siddall. Other candidates are Superior Court judges Debra Archuleta and Craig Mitchell, criminal defense attorney Dan Kapelovitz and retired judge David Milton.

The top three challengers in terms of campaign contributions are Hochman, Chemerinsky and Hatami.

Hochman collected more than $1.32 million in monetary and non-monetary contributions through Dec. 31, campaign finance records show. The total includes a $20,000 loan from himself. Between Jan. 1 and Jan. 20, his campaign collected another $211,735 in monetary contributions.

Chemerinsky collected $801,206 in monetary and non-monetary contributions through Dec. 31, campaign finance records show. The total includes a $20,000 loan from himself. Between Jan. 1 and Jan. 20, Chemerinsky collected another $67,534 in monetary and non-monetary contributions.

Hatami, known to Antelope Valley voters as the successful prosecutor in the Gabriel Fernandez and Anthony Avalos murder trials, raised $535,479 in monetary and non-monetary contributions through Dec. 31. He raised an additional $16,660 in monetary and non-monetary contributions between Jan. 1 and Jan. 20, campaign finance records show.

Siddall collected $373,753 in monetary contributions through Dec. 31. The total

includes a $20,000 loan to himself. He raised an additional $20,183 in monetary contributions between Jan. 1 and Jan. 20, records show.

Gascón re-election campaign committee received $266,126 in monetary and non-monetary campaign contributions through Dec. 31, records show. He raised an additional $21,730 in monetary contributions between Jan. 1 and Jan. 20.

Ramirez collected $252,214 in monetary and non-monetary contributions to her campaign. The total includes a $20,000 loan to herself. She collected an additional $3,105 in monetary contributions between Jan. 1 and Jan. 20, records show.

Archuleta got $215,555 in monetary contributions through Dec. 31, campaign finance records show. The total includes a $20,000 loan to herself. She raised an additional $8,455 in monetary contributions between Jan.1 and Jan. 20.

McKinney raised $210,850 through June 30, campaign finance records show. The total includes a $45,000 loan to himself. There are no electronic records to show how much his campaign raised through Dec. 31. He raised an additional $21,954 in monetary contributions between Jan. 1 and Jan. 20.

Mitchell raised $154,953 in monetary campaign contributions through Dec. 31, including a $21,650 loan to himself. The county’s campaign finance reports did not include a report for the period of Jan. 1 through Jan. 20.

Dan Kapelovitz’s campaign finance reports show a $10,300 loan to himself and $2,000 in monetary contributions for a total of $12,300 through Dec. 31. He did not collect any additional contributions between Jan. 1 and Jan. 20.

Milton received $4,376 in monetary contributions between Jan. 1 and Jan. 20. County records did not include a report for any contributions last year.

Masson apparently has not filed any campaign finance reports with the county, as there is no record of any.