Runoff increasingly likely in L.A. County district attorney race

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey’s share of the vote from last week’s primary election slipped below 50%, moving her further from the mark she needs to avoid a runoff.

The latest vote totals released by the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder on Tuesday in the district attorney’s race found Lacey’s share of the vote slid from 50% to 49.94%. She needs 50% plus one vote to win outright, and is increasingly likely to face a November runoff with the second-place finisher. The registrar’s office estimated 493,450 ballots remain uncounted as of Tuesday evening.

Lacey, a two-term incumbent, was challenged by George Gascon, a former Los Angeles Police Department official and San Francisco district attorney, and Rachel Rossi, a public defender and former congressional aide, to lead the nation’s largest prosecutor’s office. Gascon and Rossi, who both ran on a reform agenda, have captured 27.66% and 22.4% of the vote, respectively, as of Tuesday.

The county registrar will update the vote count Friday.

The race was seen as a test of whether a national movement that has installed progressive, reform-minded candidates in prosecutors’ offices in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Baltimore and other cities would extend to Los Angeles. Despite its left-leaning electorate, the county has historically endorsed a more conservative view of law and order.