It’s decision day for two of the biggest figures in Fulton County’s election-interference trial against former President Donald Trump and his allies. District Attorney Fani Willis and Judge Scott McAfee both face the voters.
The question Willis’ supporters are posing ahead of Tuesday is not whether she’ll defeat Christian Wise Smith in the Democratic primary. It’s what margin will she win.
She’s looking to run up the score against Wise Smith ahead of a November race against Republican Courtney Kramer, another contest Willis is expected to dominate.
Her allies hope a sweeping victory would put a stamp of approval on the way she runs the office — and her strategy for pursuing the closely watched Trump trial, which could be delayed until 2025 as an appeals court considers a challenge.
Any weakness at the ballot box could inspire new efforts to undermine Willis, who is already facing several probes in the Georgia Senate sanctioned by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who could face charges himself.
That’s one reason Willis joined MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Monday to cast her contest as a fight for a DA’s office that’s “free from interference.”
”I am at a point where I need Fulton County voters to get out and vote,” she said. “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. We are not going to allow people to be attacked while they do their job.”
McAfee, meanwhile, is facing the voters for the first time since he was appointed by Kemp to the bench in 2022. But to many in Fulton County, he’s already a household name thanks to wall-to-wall coverage of the trial he’s overseeing.
He’s facing a challenge from civil rights attorney Robert Patillo. Another candidate, Tiffani Johnson, a former assistant solicitor, was disqualified by an administrative law judge and is fighting to return to the ballot.
