Corporate media’s misguided autopsy of the 2024 presidential election uses an outdated playbook. In asking questions like, “Why did Trump win?” “Why did Harris lose?” and “What will Trump do with majorities in Congress?” the media fails to consider the broader effects of the election. Not enough attention was paid to some of the down-ballot results suggesting a tectonic shift of America’s political landscape, especially as it relates to crime.

For those who have lamented California’s  left-wing extremism, some encouraging news came out of the Golden State’s results. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who became a household name in California for his ultra-lenient stance towards crime both in L.A. and as the former district attorney of San Francisco, was soundly defeated in his bid for re-election this month.

Gascón lost to independent former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hochman, who promised to roll back Gascón’s policies which, he noted, had led to a 65 percent increase in crime in the first three months of this year. This qualifies as major shift for a sanctuary state that has been under one-party rule for decades and is still suffering under the “progressive” policies of Governor Gavin Newsom.

The now-lame-duck L.A. County DA had a soft spot for illegal aliens as well as homegrown criminals. In 2022, he issued a special directive that had the goal of avoiding “additional immigration impact on all parties, both the victims and defendants.” The directive ordered prosecutors in the county not to seek charges against illegal aliens, instead sending criminal aliens to “diversion programs” meant to help them evade deportation.

Attempts to avoid sentencing enhancements and a preference for seeking pre-trial diversion programs over prosecution became a priority for prosecutors pursuing charges against foreign criminals. The goal, according to Gascón, was to keep foreign nationals in the United States, even when those same foreign nationals violate the terms of the Immigration and Nationality Act by engaging in criminal activity.

Gascón had been one of the stars of Hungarian-born leftist billionaire George Soros’s plan to funnel donations through a network of political action committees and nonprofits to elect extremist district attorneys throughout the country. Candidates were selected to push initiatives like eliminating cash bail, “reimagining” the role of police, and assisting criminal aliens to avoid deportation. At last count there were 70 Soros-funded district attorneys still in office.

Starting almost 10 years ago, the plan has succeeded in placing social justice-minded DAs in Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago’s Cook County, to name a few. Once in office, Soros’s DAs quickly implemented their agendas, which predictably resulted in record levels of crime and chaos.  

Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner created a new immigration counsel position within his office, with the sole purpose of reaching “immigration neutral” outcomes for noncitizens. In 2021, an investigation by the Immigration Reform Law Institute revealed the extent to which Krasner has turned Philadelphia into a magnet for criminal aliens. Shortly after assuming office in 2017, he appointed immigration attorney Caleb Arnold to consult on criminal cases involving noncitizens. Arnold’s consulting resulted in noncitizen criminal defendants avoiding both Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and deportation. 

The pushback against this madness started in June 2022 in, of all places, San Francisco. Soros-backed DA and extreme leftist Chesa Boudin was recalled by a 61-39 margin amid a tidal wave of criticism of his progressive criminal justice policies. Subsequently, Krasner was impeached by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on multiple counts and only narrowly avoided removal.  

In the past year, 12 Soros-backed DAs were defeated in elections, chose to resign, voluntarily departed, or were removed by other means. Boudin, who now leads a criminal justice center at the University of California at Berkeley, recently and laughably claimed that San Francisco has taken a “hard turn to the right” in recent years.

While no one is likely to confuse San Francisco’s political leanings with those of Oklahoma City any time soon, there is growing evidence that the era of the Soros-backed woke DAs may be sunsetting. Americans, including those in some of the most liberal enclaves, have gotten a taste of woke law enforcement, and they are spitting it out like spoiled milk.