Woke Georgia DA Deborah Gonzalez pummeled in re-election bid after refusing Laken Riley murder case
The lefty prosecutor of the Georgia county where Laken Riley was allegedly murdered by a Venezuelan migrant will be looking for another job after being soundly defeated in her re-election bid.
Democratic District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, whose circuit includes liberal Athens-Clarke County and conservative Oconee County, was trounced 60%-40% by Republican Kalki Yalamanchili Tuesday.
The defeat was part of a tsunami of soft-on-crime progressive prosecutors and pols — many backed by left-wing kingmaker billionaire George Soros — booted from office.
Gonzalez was elected in 2020 on the heels of Soros and other progressives pushing for criminal justice reform in response to Black Lives Matter and other nationwide protests.
She promised diversion programs, rehabilitation, and shorter sentences for nonviolent offenders.
Riley, 22, a nursing student, was found dead on Feb. 22 after she went for a run.
In February, Gonzalez removed herself from the case and appointed a special prosecutor, after criticism from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp over failing to secure a single guilty verdict the entire time she had been in office.
“We will not allow this or any case to be used for political gain,” Gonzalez said at the time.
Riley’s alleged killer, Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was arrested in Queens six months before her death, on child endangerment charges.
But New York City’s migrant sanctuary policies prevented the NYPD from turning the Venezuelan over to the feds.
