Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis, who filed election lawsuit against Trump, was re-elected

ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney. Fani Willis, the Georgia prosecutor who brought charges against former President Donald Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, has won his re-election bid.

Willis, a Democrat, defeated Republican challenger Courtney Kramer, who interned in the White House counsel’s office during Trump’s presidency and was active in GOP organizations. Fulton County, home to 11% of the state’s electorate and encompassing most of the city of Atlanta, is a Democratic stronghold.

Willis took office in January 2021 after defeating his long-time predecessor and former boss. Lawyer. Paul Howard was in a bitter Democratic primary battle in 2020. He had no Republican opponent in that year’s November general election.

He made headlines in February 2021, just a month into his term, when he announced he was investigating whether Trump and others broke any laws while trying to hand over his narrow loss in the state to Democrat Joe Biden. Two and a half years later, after an investigation that included subpoenaing dozens of witnesses before a special grand jury, it obtained a sweeping racketeering indictment against Trump and 18 others in August 2023.

The four men pleaded guilty after reaching agreements with prosecutors. Trump and the remaining individuals have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

While that case is largely on hold, Trump and other defendants are appealing the judge’s decision allowing Willis to proceed with the case. They allege that Willis’ romantic relationship with a special prosecutor he hired to run the prosecution created a conflict of interest. The Georgia Court of Appeals plans to hear arguments on December 5.

The election interference investigation made Willis a target of Republican attacks and investigations. Trump has repeatedly spoken out against her publicly and on social media. State and federal lawmakers launched investigations into how he ran his office.

Willis has also used the state’s anti-racketeering law to prosecute allegations of gang activity, including a high-profile case against rapper Young Thug. This case was bogged down by issues that dragged on for almost two years. Jury selection took almost 10 months, and opening statements were made a year ago this month. Young Thug and three other defendants pleaded guilty to the charges against them last week, but the trial of two defendants continues.

Although Willis is a Democrat, he doesn’t fit into the crop of progressive prosecutors elected in jurisdictions across the country in recent years. Some critics on the left believe he has been overzealous in using the state’s anti-racketeering and anti-gang laws to unnecessarily complicate cases to increase the penalties attached to those laws.

Progressive attorney Christian Wise Smith challenged Willis in the Democratic primary in May, but Willis easily defeated him. Kramer ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

Brumback writes for the Associated Press.