Two prominent figures in the Fulton County case against former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies, who are accused of trying to undermine the 2020 election, resoundingly won their respective elections Tuesday.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ victory in Tuesday’s Democratic primary sends her on to the Nov. 5 general election in a strong position to win a second term as the top prosecutor in the Democratic stronghold of Fulton County.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, the presiding judge in the Trump case, also defeated civil rights attorney Robert Patillo in the nonpartisan election. McAfee’s victory gives him his first full term after being appointed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022.
The Associated Press declared Willis and McAfee the winners Tuesday shortly after the polls closed. Willis defeated Christian Wise Smith, former Atlanta city solicitor and Fulton County prosecutor.
This fall, Willis will be heavily favored over Republican challenger Courtney Kramer, a former Trump attorney who won the GOP primary without opposition.
The future of the Trump election collusion case, though, remains uncertain. Delays have left a 2024 trial start unlikely for the felony racketeering and conspiracy case against Trump and the remaining 14 co-defendants.
But it’s a victory for Willis, who is the first woman to be district attorney in Georgia’s most populated county. She has been publicly critical of Trump supporters who have attacked her decision to pursue charges against the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee, several members of Trump’s inner circle and several Georgia GOP officials.
Willis came under greater scrutiny since the public learned this year about her prior romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. But she turned the criticism against her into a rallying cry for her re-election campaign.
Earlier this month, Willis was endorsed by a number of Black religious leaders who slammed the criticism as a witch hunt because she is a Black woman willing to stand up to Trump and the GOP machine.
That scrutiny will continue Thursday when a special state Senate committee will hold a fourth hearing as they investigate allegations of misconduct, including whether Willis misused public funds.
Willis implored her supporters to go to the polls during an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Monday.
“I need people around the country to support me big and small to say that we are going to be a country that still believes in the rule of law,” Willis said.
The case against Trump and co-defendants is on hold indefinitely while the Georgia Court of Appeals reviews McAfee’s March ruling allowing Willis to continue prosecuting the case despite calls for her resignation.
Attorneys for Trump and other defendants argue that McAfee erred by rejecting a motion to disqualify Willis from the case after she admitted to a romantic relationship with Wade, whom she hired in November 2021 to lead the election interference probe.
In the November election, Willis will face Kramer, a former intern for the Trump White House administration and a legal advisor to the controversial election law overhaul passed by Republican state lawmakers in 2021.
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