Can serial killer’s prosecutor end losing streak for GOP, independents in California elections?

California is in chaos, Anne Marie Schubert says, and she wants to be the person to fix it.

Surrounded by families of crime victims, Sacramento County’s district attorney on Monday launched her candidacy for California attorney general while slamming Democratic leaders’ progressive policies on law and order.

“The newly appointed attorney general has voted for and supported policies and laws that are not only destroying the rights of crime victims, but are destroying public safety in this state,” Schubert said referencing Attorney General Rob Bonta, who was sworn in Friday.

“Here is the truth: California’s criminal justice system is in chaos.”

Schubert, known for prosecuting one of the state’s most notorious serial killers, is trying something no candidate has accomplished in recent memory: She wants to win statewide office in California as an independent rather than as a Democrat or as a Republican.

For years a Republican, Schubert recently switched her voter registration to NPP, or no party preference. She wanted to be authentic, she told The Sacramento Bee, but independent candidates have had little luck winning elections in California.

The last time non-Democrats won statewide office was in 2006, when Arnold Schwarzenegger won the governorship and Steve Poizner won insurance commissioner, both running as Republicans. Since then, it’s been hard for any candidate without a D next to his or her name to be elected in California.

But Rob Stutzman, a GOP political consultant, said if there’s any statewide office where an independent may have a chance, it’s attorney general.

“I think people are going to vote for AG based on if there’s a contrast between the candidates on criminal justice matters,” Stutzman said. “And a real prosecutor versus someone who is a politician.”

‘Safety and security don’t just happen’

Schubert won election as district attorney in 2014 and has used her position to advocate for law enforcement and to support for victims’ rights groups. She is perhaps best known for prosecuting Golden State Killer Joseph James DeAngelo, who last year pleaded guilty to murdering 13 people and admitted to 62 rapes and other crimes. DNA was a critical component of catching the killer, and Schubert for years has advocated for laws that make it easier to collect genetic material to solve crimes.

As a tough prosecutor who is also a working mom with a same sex partner, Stutzman called her a “quintessential Californian.”

“She’s a spectacular candidate,” he said.

She’s challenging one of the most progressive Democrats ever to take statewide office in California. Bonta has campaigned to end the cash bail system, curtail the use of private prisons and limit the influence of law enforcement unions.

Schubert, by contrast, has opposed popular criminal justice reform propositions backed by former Gov. Jerry Brown and campaigned to expedite the death penalty. She also declined to bring charges against the Sacramento police officers who shot and killed a young Black man, Stephon Clark, in his grandparents’ backyard three years ago.

Schubert on Monday defended her decision not to prosecute in Clark’s case, saying although it was a tragic outcome, she followed the facts.

“We always want to improve the outcomes, but my job as the DA and as the attorney general is to follow the facts of the law,” she said.

Schubert argues that citizens are fed up with the lack of safety they see in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco even after they’ve passed statewide ballot initiatives to lighten criminal sentences and make it easier for prison inmates to be released on parole.

“Each and every Californian is being impacted. In the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘safety and security don’t just happen, they are the result of a collective consensus and a public investment.’ We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear,” she said.

Can a nonpartisan win in a primary?

Schubert’s real challenge will be getting past primary elections, political consultants said. Competitive Republican candidates are bound to enter the race, and could push Schubert to the side in the state’s open primary.

While she could be a formidable candidate to challenge Bonta, it’s unclear if she’ll even get the chance.

“There haven’t been many nonpartisan people who won in statewide office or even been competitive in statewide office,” Democratic consultant Andrew Acosta said.

In 2018, Poizner, who had previously been a Republican, ran for statewide office as an independent for insurance commissioner. He cleared the primary and lost to Democrat Ricardo Lara in the general election.

Dan Schnur, a former adviser to Republican Gov. Pete Wilson who unsuccessfully ran for statewide office as independent in 2014, said Schubert could fare better at the ballot box.

“Her chances are excellent, particularly given the nature of this office,” he said.

“Most California voters don’t subscribe to the types of more extremist views on public safety issues. Someone who can carve out a reasonable center in between ‘lock them up’ and ‘defund the police,’ is very well-positioned,” he said.

Democrats supporting Bonta have been swift to rebuke Schubert, pointing out an audit from January which found the California District Attorneys Association, where she sits on the board of directors, misspent millions allocated for environmental cases.

Bonta adviser Dana Williams called Schubert “tremendously flawed.”

“She has refused to bring excessive force cases and serves as treasurer of an organization that misspent millions meant to prosecute polluters,” Williams said in a statement. “Now she wants to lead the Department of Justice — the same entity that is investigating her organization’s misdeeds.”

Both Schnur and Stutzman said there is an appetite for a middle-of-the-road candidate to take over California’s justice department, and it could be Schubert.

“Her running has really been the hope for a lot of center-right observers who want to see the attorney general’s office regain some stature and credibility and not be so politicized,” Stutzman said.

This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 5:00 AM.