Nathan Vasquez, left, has ousted Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt in Oregon. (Vasquez for DA; Getty Images)
Schmidt came into office days before the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota and the calls for changes to the criminal justice system that came amid racial justice protests in Portland and other cities nationwide. Other DAs ushered into office in liberal bastions like San Francisco and Seattle around the same time have since faced setbacks amid frustrations from the public over crime.
Generally, those district attorneys have supported finding alternatives to imprisonment and have refrained from prosecuting low-level crimes to reduce incarceration rates and address social inequities in the criminal justice system.
Critics have said such policies enable criminals and public safety risks.
A person drops off their vote-by-mail ballot at a dropbox in Pioneer Square during primary voting in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
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In his message, Vasquez said he was "committed to ending open-air drug dealing and drug use while helping connect individuals to treatment, to rebuilding the broken relationships between the DA’s office and the community, and to ensuring that victims are the number one priority of my office."
Fox News Digital has reached out to Schmidt's campaign.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.
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