Atlanta – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the Georgia prosecutor who brought a sweeping racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and others, has won the Democratic Primaries in his re-election bid.
Willis defeated progressive lawyer Christian Wise Smith in the primary election and will now face Republican Courtney Kramer in the fall. Willis told reporters after his victory that voters sent a message that “people want a prosecutor who is fair, who treats everyone equally and who works hard, and they know they have that in me.”
Meanwhile, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, the judge who was randomly assigned to preside over the election interference case, also fended off a challenger, winning a nonpartisan election to keep his seat.
Intense public interest in the election case has thrust both Willis and McAfee into the national spotlight, giving them greater name recognition than their incumbents might otherwise have had.
With that name recognition, the perks of the office, and massive fundraising, Willis’ primary victory wasn’t too surprising. As she heads into the general election, the odds also appear to be in her favor. Fulton County includes most of the city of Atlanta and is heavily Democratic, with about 73% of its voters voting for President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
But Willis took nothing for granted after his primary victory, telling his supporters: “The campaign doesn’t end tonight. It starts.”
“My opponent is completely unqualified,” she said, later adding, “But although she is inexperienced and unqualified and does not represent the values of my county, do not be confused. She is a real threat because of who supports her and how they support her.”
Kramer, who has ties to some of Trump’s most prominent allies in Georgia and has received campaign contributions from the county and state Republican parties, told reporters when she qualified to run that Trump’s accusation led her to challenge Willis. In a post on social platform It’s time to change.”
McAfee has been on the bench since last year, when Republican Gov. Brian Kemp appointed him to fill a vacancy. He has since become one of the highest-profile judges in Georgia since he was randomly assigned last year to preside over the election interference case. With the added perks of office, strong bipartisan support from big names, and impressive fundraising, he was the likely favorite to win.
Willis and Smith worked in the Fulton County District Attorney’s office under then-District Attorney Paul Howard. Both challenged their former boss on 2020 Democratic primaries. Willis and Howard advanced to a second round which she won and ran unopposed in the November general election of that year.
Kramer ran unopposed in Tuesday’s Republican primary and has already focused his attention on attacking Willis. A lawyer who interned in the Trump White House, she has ties to some of the former president’s prominent allies in Georgia.
While Trump’s election case and racketeering cases against well-known rappers have boosted Willis’ public profile, her campaign has focused on her efforts to reduce the staggering backlog of cases that existed when she took office, combat gang violence and Capture at-risk youth before they are caught up in the criminal justice system.
In what even some of her closest allies considered a huge mistake, she became involved in a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor she hired for the election case. Claims by defense lawyers in the case that the romance created a conflict of interest threatened to derail the prosecution.
McAfee ultimately ruled that this did not create a conflict of interest that should disqualify Willis, but said she could only continue the case if the special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, stepped aside. Wade promptly dropped the case, but a defense appeal of McAfee’s decision is now pending in the Georgia Court of Appeals.
Wade was among those gathered at an event space in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood on Tuesday night to celebrate Willis’ victory.
In just over a year on the court, the election case made McAfee one of the most recognized judges in Georgia. He previously served as a federal and state prosecutor and as a state inspector general. He was appointed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to fill a vacancy and has campaigned vigorously in recent weeks to win a full four-year term. His campaign drew support from a bipartisan slate of heavyweights, including Kemp and former Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat.
Willis obtained an indictment in August against Trump and 18 others, accusing them of participating in an alleged illegal scheme to overturn Trump’s narrow 2020 presidential election defeat in Georgia. Four people pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the remaining 14 have pleaded not guilty.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
