District Attorney Fani Willis, Judge in Trump Case Fend Off Challengers in Georgia

Willis won the Democratic primary, and Judge Scott McAfee won reelection.

ATLANTA—Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee defeated their respective challengers in Georgia’s general primary on May 21, as voters expressed mixed emotions about their choices.

Ms. Willis defeated Christian Wise Smith once again to secure the Democratic nominee for District Attorney in her pursuit of re-election, according to the Associated Press.

Judge McAfee defeated Robert Patillo, a civil rights attorney with a track record that is rooted in the Democratic Party and who has previously sued the state over its “Stand Your Ground” law, to win reelection.

Judge McAfee was first appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp to fill an empty seat. He will now serve a full four-year term on Fulton County’s Superior Court starting January 2025.

Ms. Willis gained national attention and criticism from Republicans for launching that election interference case against former President Donald Trump and several of his allies. Several Fulton County voters told The Epoch Times that it was her continued pursuit of the president that earned their vote.

“Let’s keep those in place, those who should stay in place,” Amir Salmon, 59, told The Epoch Times. He voted for both Ms. Willis and Judge McAfee and has been a Fulton County voter for 11 years. “Because Lord knows what’s going to come down the pipe. Georgia’s going to face hell if Trump gets back in office.”

The case has also exposed behavior that President Trump’s campaign has argued to be dismissible, including Ms. Willis’s previous romantic relationship with the special prosecutor in the case, Nathan Wade.

Mr. Wade was spotted attending an event in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood celebrating Ms. Willis’s win.

Some voters maintained their support for her, but others said they would no longer support her because of her behavior.

“I mean, it’s just an embarrassment,” Tom Solley, a resident of Fulton County for 37 years, told The Epoch Times. “I mean, she campaigns as to what she’s going to do and the integrity she’s going to bring to the office, and she’s done everything the exact opposite of what she campaigned on, [and] mirrored every ethical lapse of her predecessor.”

Mr. Smith previously challenged Ms. Willis for the Democratic nomination but lost. He is the founder of the nonprofit National Social Justice Alliance, which, according to its website, is “a mission to unite prosecuting attorneys across the country to end police brutality.”

All voters who chose the Democratic ballot told The Epoch Times that they did not know much about him. Those who voted for him suggested it was a vote against Ms. Willis for something new, and one woman who voted for Ms. Willis told The Epoch Times that she is still open to a different choice come November.

“I want people who want us to pull together like it used to be, not the way it is today,” said Dionne Lacey-Artis, 58, who added that she felt “torn” voting for Ms. Willis. “So yeah, I would vote for someone, but they have to be centrist. They cannot be too far left, and they cannot be too far right. We need a little salt and pepper to make the dish taste better. Too much of either is not good.”

Meanwhile, Fulton County Republicans have chosen Courtney Kramer as their champion to try and turn the district attorney’s office red in November’s general election.

“The future of Fulton and safety in our community should not be controlled by self-interested politicians who use their office for political law fare,” Ms. Kramer recently posted on X. “It’s time for a change.”

Judge McAfee also gained national attention after being selected to preside over Ms. Willis’s election interference case against President Trump. He also heard the president’s arguments for why Ms. Willis should be removed from the case.

The judge ruled in March that President Trump and his co-defendants “failed to meet their burden” in proving that Ms. Willis’ relationship with Mr. Wade amounted to a conflict of interest. Nor did they sufficiently prove that Ms. Willis financially benefited from it. However, he also ruled that either Ms. Willis or Mr. Wade had to step down from the case. President Trump’s lawyers filed to appeal that ruling on May 17.

Appearing on both Republican and Democratic ballots due to his race’s nonpartisan nature, Judge McAfee garnered significant bipartisan support. However, voters who chose him expressed a desire to maintain the status quo or make the best of a bad situation.

“We’re Republicans, and we don’t like him,” Pam W. told The Epoch Times. “I don’t like him, but we have voted for him because he was the best of the worst.”

But that same logic was also used by Ms. Lacey-Artis when she voted for Mr. Patillo over Judge McAfee.

“I was in there and I was saying I know what I know about the person. Is this the lesser of two evils, so to speak,” she said. “And so, you don’t know. So I can only hope and go on what I read about—the records—and what I see.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.