Challengers in SoCal's top races make final push to voters

LOS ANGELES (KABC) - Candidates in some of the closest races in Southern California are making their final pitches to voters Monday before Election Day .

Nathan Hochman , who is running for Los Angeles County district attorney against incumbent George Gascón , called in "The West Wing" actor Rob Lowe to motivate voters to make a change.

"I also don't do political endorsements, only on television, only on 'The West Wing,' do I do that," Lowe said next to Hochman at a rally at the Hall of Justice. "But there comes a time where the quality of life of a city that I have loved since I came here in 1976 demands me to get off the damn couch and come out here and offer my endorsement."

Hochman maintains a large lead over Gascón, though smaller than it was last month, according to a Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.

Hochman leads Gascón by 25 points, with 25% of likely voters still undecided. Hochman has maintained his lead since August. On Oct. 8, he was up 30 points and on August 18 he was up 25 points.

"This campaign was never going to be easy, with tens of millions being spent against the DA since he took office," Gascón's campaign said in a statement. "We're focused on talking to voters about the stakes in this race - every phone call and door knock count."

Democratic candidate George Whitesides, who is challenging Republican Rep. Mike Garcia for the 27th Congressional District in northern L.A. County, campaigned in Granada Hills Monday morning alongside Sen. Alex Padilla and other elected officials.

Whitesides is in a tight race against Garcia for a purple district that's no stranger to close contests.

"Three hundred thirty-three - that is the number of votes that separate the winner from the loser in 2020 in this district," Whitesides told supporters.

Whitesides will attend a "get-out-the-vote" event with Rep. Adam Schiff in Santa Clarita Monday night. Schiff's Republican opponent, Dodgers legend Steve Garvey, was in Buena Park earlier where he was phone banking.

"A red wave is building and we think, you know we say that X-factor, well my number in baseball was 6, so it's a 6 factor that we think is going to kick in tomorrow," Garvey said. "And we're going to shock a lot of people."