Los Angeles County's next District Attorney said he's been preparing for the role, meeting with the office's prosecutors and studying the bureaucracy.

Some view the D.A. race in L.A. as a referendum on the state of public safety in the nation’s most populous county.

Nathan Hochman defeated George Gascón in the race for Los Angeles County district attorney, unseating an incumbent known as the godfather of progressive prosecutors. Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, calls himself a “hard middle” candidate who ...