CNN
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Two key players in former President Donald Trump’s election interference trial in Georgia are set to fend off their opponents in Tuesday’s election, CNN projects.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is prosecuting President Trump, is expected to win a rematch of the Democratic primary against attorney and author Christian Wise Smith.
Also, Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the former president’s case, is expected to win the nonpartisan race for Fulton County Superior Court.
Georgia’s 2020 election interference case was sidelined for months over whether to disqualify Willis after it was revealed that she had a romantic relationship with lead prosecutor Nathan Wade. It was deviated from. Willis managed to stay on, but Wade resigned in March. The appeals court said it would revisit the question of whether Mr. Willis should have been removed from the case.
As a result, Trump’s lawsuit remains effectively stalled. The Georgia case also involves a legal debate before the Supreme Court over whether former presidents have immunity from prosecution, and a decision could wait until this summer.
Willis’ primary opponent, Wise Smith, finished third in the 2020 Democratic primary for Fulton County District Attorney. During this year’s campaign, he questioned the resources Willis’ office was putting into prosecuting Trump. “It’s very unfortunate that her private life has become so public,” Wise-Smith said in an interview with CNN’s Laura Coates in March. In that sense, I feel sorry for her too. ”
Willis will next face Courtney Cramer, a Republican lawyer who worked in the White House counsel’s office under Trump. Cramer, who was unopposed in the Republican primary, faces a major defeat against Willis in deep-blue Fulton County, home to much of Atlanta, where she won 26% of the vote in 2020 compared with Joe Biden’s 73%.
Meanwhile, McAfee faces criminal defense attorney and talk radio host Robert Pattillo in Tuesday’s bipartisan general election. Mr. Pattillo, who describes himself as a “conservative Democrat,” had criticized Mr. McAfee’s response to the decision not to remove Mr. Willis from the prosecution when details of his romantic relationship with Mr. Wade were revealed.
Another candidate, Tiffany Johnson, had filed to run against McAfee, but was disqualified after failing to appear at a eligibility hearing.
Tuesday’s election marked the first for McAfee, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to fill a vacancy left by his retirement in December 2022.
“I really enjoyed being out campaigning,” McAfee told CNN while campaigning in Atlanta on Tuesday.
“Usually we’re in the legal world where we only talk to lawyers, so it’s healthy to go out and talk to other people,” he said.
McAfee also said he wants to further increase voter trust in the system.
“If I can do everything I can to instill and deepen trust in my little corner of the world, that’s what I’m going to do,” the judge said.
McAfee had a big fundraising advantage in the race, thanks in part to bipartisan support from influential figures. Kemp and former Democratic Gov. Roy Burns were featured guests at McAfee’s recent fundraising events. Kemp is a potential witness in the Trump case, and Burns has already testified in the Willis disqualification case.
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Andrew Pinson will win a six-year term, defeating an opponent who made abortion rights a central part of his campaign, CNN predicts.
Georgia Supreme Court elections are nonpartisan, but Pinson and his challenger, former U.S. Rep. John Barrow, are partisan. Mr. Pinson is a former clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and was appointed to his current position by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022. The governor’s leadership committee, Georgian First, spent more than $600,000 to boost the judge’s campaign, and Kemp described Pinson in an ad as a “trusted conservative voice.” Barrow, meanwhile, spent 10 years as a Democratic congressman representing parts of eastern Georgia.
Mike Stewart/The Associated Press
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Andrew Pinson poses for a photo in Atlanta on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday, May 14, 2024, that the state political committee will spend $500,000 to support Pinson in his nonpartisan race against Supreme Court Justice John Barrow. did.
During his campaign, Barrow targeted the state’s restrictive abortion ban signed by Kemp, which bans abortions after six weeks, before most women even know they’re pregnant. The former congressman argued that Georgia needs a Supreme Court justice who will “protect the rights of women and their families to make the most personal family and health care decisions ever made.”
Barrow’s comments about abortion led to an ethics complaint from the state Judicial Qualifications Commission, which charged him with violating the Code of Conduct. Mr. Barrow sued the commission in federal court, alleging a violation of his First Amendment rights. A judge dismissed the lawsuit before the election.
Pinson was the only Georgia Supreme Court justice facing a challenger on Tuesday, as three other justices ran unopposed. Eight of the state’s nine high court justices were originally appointed by Republican governors.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s Arit John, Ryan Young and Devon M. Sayers contributed to this report.
