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Los Angeles County · Statewide General Election

Judge of the Superior Court, Office No. 87 — Los Angeles County

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

On the ballot

This person holds a countywide seat on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the state trial court (6-year term).

Headed to a November 3 runoff: Deputy Public Defender A.J. Bayne (42%) vs. former federal prosecutor David DeJute (31.3%) — a genuine contrast in legal careers.

The winner serves a six-year term on the county's trial bench, assigned anywhere from criminal and civil to family and probate court. Trial judges rule alone — their decisions are checked mainly on appeal — so the person matters more than in almost any other down-ballot office.

Anthony (A.J.) Bayne

Deputy Public Defender for about 25 years — 19 of them at the Compton courthouse. The county bar rated him Well Qualified, the only one in this race. Both the establishment legal press and the progressive guides endorsed him, a rare consensus.

Strengths

Deep, local, hands-on courtroom experience and the race's strongest rating.

Trade-offs

A career on one side of the criminal courtroom, if balance-of-background matters to you.

Keep in mind

Nothing adverse surfaced in coverage.

David Dejute

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney and former VP of litigation at Sony Pictures, now in private practice and teaching at Pepperdine's law school. The county bar rated him Qualified. An impressive résumé built mostly outside the criminal courtrooms this seat serves.

Strengths

Federal prosecution and complex civil litigation experience.

Trade-offs

Less time in the state trial courts this seat runs day to day.

Keep in mind

The legal press questioned the accuracy of his 'Law Professor' ballot designation (attributed, unresolved).

Financial info

David Dejute

  • Small donors$00%

No campaign statements for Anthony (A.J.) Bayne are on file yet; filings are searchable on the county's campaign-finance disclosure site.

Total raised is each calendar year's cumulative (Form 460 Summary line 5) from that year's latest filing, summed for the 2026 cycle; the breakdown lists direct contributions, so the pieces can sum below the total. Figures are filings through 2025-06-30, per the county's NetFile e-filing data, retrieved 2026-08-02.

June 2 primary — how they advanced

Anthony (A.J.) Bayne42.04% · 694,004 votes
David Dejute31.30% · 516,631 votes
Sharee Sanders Gordon26.66% · 440,136 votes
Source review: Strong (85/100) · 7 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context; advocacy or endorsement sources are treated as attributed perspective.

Review note: Knock LA and Metropolitan News-Enterprise may have more bias because they are advocacy or endorsement sources compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

Last updated August 7, 2026.