Jackie Lacey, incumbent Los Angeles County District Attorney, conceded to her opponent George Gascon Friday morning.
“I congratulate George Gascon and his team on their expected victory,” said Lacey during a press briefing. “My consultants tell me that while I may close the gap between the two of us, I will not be able to make up enough (votes) based on the trending of the ballots to win this election.”
As of noon Friday, Gascon had received 1,655,481 (53.72%) of votes while Lacey received 1,426,459 (46.28%). The L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk announced there were still about 790,000 ballots yet to be counted in the county as of Thursday evening.
Gascon responded in a virtual press briefing Friday afternoon, thanking his campaign staff and supporters.
Lacey was elected as the county’s first Black woman district attorney in 2012, eight years prior to Friday’s announcement.
She was met with cheers and applause as she entered the press briefing, expressing gratitude for her family and staff, saying, “I thank my family for the sacrifices they made in order for me to hold this job and I thank my colleagues for having my back.”