Atlanta-area voters have voted in favor of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Georgia’s Democratic primary, The Associated Press projected.
Willis became a target for conservatives because of her investigation — and eventual indictment — of Donald Trump in his election-related racketeering case. She remains on the case despite allegations that a romantic relationship she had with a prosecutor on her team should disqualify her, as Georgia Republicans continue to find ways to target her.
Willis’ opponent in Tuesday’s primary, Christian Wise Smith, criticized her handling of the case on the campaign trail, claiming that her hiring of prosecutor Nathan Wade amounted to a misuse of taxpayer money.
But Fulton County voters showed Tuesday that they want Willis to remain at the helm.
“When you pay one attorney $1 million to handle a case, it hurts everyone else in Fulton County,” Wise Smith said in April. “We have to see [the Trump case] through while addressing everything else affecting Fulton.”
But Fulton County voters showed Tuesday that they want Willis to remain at the helm.
She has prioritized rooting out gang violence, including the high-profile racketeering case involving rapper Young Thug, and the Atlanta area saw significant decreases in violent crime in 2023. Appearing Monday night on “The Rachel Maddow Show,” Willis framed her re-election bid as a fight for the rule of law.
“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,” she said.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.