Creuzot had about 59 percent of the vote and Frizell had just under 41 percent early Wednesday, with 97 of 440 vote centers reporting.
Creuzot beat Frizell in the 2018 Democratic primary by .
A criminal district attorney is the chief law enforcement officer in the county, and the elected DA has a significant amount of discretion over how to administer justice. Lawyers under his direction negotiate with defense attorneys over punishments and prosecute accused lawbreakers at trial. They can also drop cases altogether. County commissioners must approve the office鈥檚 budget requests.
Creuzot has introduced both and policies with the aim of reducing mass incarceration - including not pursuing prosecutions of first-time misdemeanor marijuana violations. Creuzot also doesn鈥檛 pursue cases of thefts of essential items like food and diapers between $100 and $750 when there is no evidence the theft was for financial gain.
Frizell, a former judge, has taken issue with how Creuzot introduced those changes, particularly the theft policy.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 sit down and make sure he had buy-in from all the different departments in the criminal justice system,鈥� she told 四虎影院.
Creuzot, who served as an assistant district attorney and judge before becoming DA, has also pushed programs to keep people from entering the criminal justice system in the first place, like the forthcoming Dallas Deflects center at the behavioral health nonprofit Homeward Bound in Southern Dallas.
If Creuzot's lead in the Democratic primary holds, that will set set up a rematch in the general election with Republican Faith Johnson, who was DA before Creuzot defeated her in 2018. Johnson said in a January press conference Creuzot鈥檚 policy on low level misdemeanor thefts of essential items. (Johnson had no opponent in the Republican primary.)
If Johnson succeeds, it would be a major upset. Dallas County voters are overwhelmingly Democratic: in 2018, Creuzot beat Johnson with 60% of the vote to her almost 40%. President Joe Biden won about twice as many Dallas County voters as former President Donald Trump in 2020.
鈥淭he incumbent DA has certain advantages,鈥� said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at SMU. 鈥淣ame recognition and fundraising are likely to be stronger. And the DA can point to particular policies鈥� that he says have been successful.
According to Creuzot鈥檚 , he had almost $200,000 on hand as of February 19. Johnson鈥檚 report was not on the .
Yet Jillson said challengers also have tools to use against incumbents.
鈥淭hey can criticize selectively some of the policies he has implemented and criticize the results of those policies,鈥� he said.
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