Carmen Trutanich Plans To Seek City Hall Reelection Following D.A. Loss

Tuesday's election was the first time in close to 50 years when an incumbent was not running for Los Angeles County's district attorney. District Attorney Steve Cooley, who has served for a dozen years, is retiring.

Prosecutors Jackie Lacey (31.95 percent) and Alan Jackson (23.69 percent) gathered the most votes, with Lacey having a significant edge. Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, who had an endorsement from Gov. Jerry Brown and Sheriff Lee Baca, and the most money of the candidates, came in third with 23.32 percent of votes.

As the two candidates with the highest number of votes, it appears that Jackson and Lacey will face one another in November.

Trutanich initially told reporters from LA Weekly that his apparent loss was due to the media's "major league onslaught" on Tuesday. However, he now says that he is "humbled" by his third-place finish. He also said he plans to seek reelection in March to his City Hall office.

"I'm looking forward to my second term. I'm hoping that the voters will feel the same way," Trutanich told the Los Angeles Times. "Right now, I have every intention in the world of pulling papers and filing them. You get wounded. But I'm not dying."

The position of district attorney is a powerful one in the criminal justice system. In Los Angeles a D.A. prosecutes an average of 60,000 felony cases a year.