Incumbent Hydee Feldstein Soto trailed two challengers Tuesday as early election results showed Marissa Roy and John McKinney leading the four-candidate race for Los Angeles’ top legal post.

As of 8:48 p.m., Roy led with 36.85% of the vote, followed by John McKinney with 32.90%. Feldstein Soto received 20.83% and Aida Ashouri 9.42%, according to results released by the Los Angeles County registrar’s office.

• Also see: June 2 Primary Election Results

The race will determine who oversees one of the nation’s largest municipal law offices, which provides legal advice to city officials, represents Los Angeles in litigation and prosecutes misdemeanor charges committed within city limits. The race focused on public safety, government accountability, the city’s growing legal liabilities and the role of the office in addressing issues ranging from homelessness to tenant protections and immigration enforcement.

A candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote to win outright. Otherwise, the top two finishers advance to a Nov. 3 runoff. Early returns showed no candidate with the majority needed to win outright.

Incumbent Feldstein Soto, 67, is seeking a second term after becoming the first woman elected to the office in 2022.

Feldstein Soto, a former commercial finance and bankruptcy attorney, campaigned on public safety, government accountability and her office’s efforts to protect workers, tenants and immigrant communities.

During her first term, her office took a number of actions, including filing lawsuits challenging federal immigration enforcement actions, pursuing price-gouging cases following last year’s wildfires and creating a Public Rights Branch focused on consumer protection, workers’ rights and environmental justice.

But her tenure also drew criticisms from opponents, who pointed to rising legal payouts against the city, internal workplace disputes and allegations that she improperly handled certain personnel and prosecutorial matters. Feldstein Soto denied wrongdoing and argued that rising legal liability costs reflect broader national trends, post-pandemic litigation backlogs and rising settlement values.

Deputy Attorney General Marissa Roy, 34, positioned herself as a progressive challenger focused on tenant protections, workers’ rights, consumer protection and protecting immigrant communities. She argued the office should play a more active role in challenging the Trump administration and defending sanctuary city policies.

Roy proposed transforming the office into what she described as the city’s “largest public interest law firm” while pursuing lawsuits against corporations and landlords that violate the law. She also criticized the city’s rising legal liabilities and reliance on outside counsel, arguing stronger compliance efforts and earlier legal intervention could help reduce costly litigation.

John McKinney, 58, a deputy district attorney with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, focused his campaign on public safety, fiscal accountability and reducing the city’s growing legal liabilities.

A veteran prosecutor with more than 25 years at the District Attorney’s Office, McKinney argued that the city attorney should play a more proactive role in preventing costly litigation, improving legal oversight and prosecuting crimes that affect neighborhood quality of life.

Aida Ashouri, 43, a former deputy city attorney who has also worked as a legal aid and immigration attorney, made civil liberties, immigrant rights, tenant protections and government transparency central themes of her campaign.

Ashouri argued that the office should place greater emphasis on protecting constitutional rights. She also called for stronger enforcement against wage theft, tenant harassment and environmental violations while supporting alternatives to incarceration, restorative justice programs and rehabilitation-focused responses to substance abuse.