The Fulton County district attorney behind the high-profile election-interference/racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and co-defendants, and who could face removal over serious conflict-of-interest allegations, will face Republican and Democratic challengers in her fall reelection bid.
Courtney Kramer
Attorney Courtney Kramer, who worked as a litigation consultant for Trump’s legal team after the 2020 election and is general counsel for the Georgia Young Republicans, filed paperwork Friday to be the GOP general election candidate against incumbent Democrat DA Fani Willis.
Kramer describes Willis as turning the district attorney’s office into a “clown show.” “The moment she decided to indict President Trump and 19 other defendants was the moment I said I had enough,” Kramer says, “The resources that were used in that investigation could’ve been used for many other things and been much more beneficial for the citizens of Fulton County.”
Even though Fulton County is Democrat-dominated, Kramer’s candidacy could pose headaches for Willis. North Fulton is still Republican-oriented and if enough Democrats and independent voters also sour on Willis, Kramer could be competitive. (Willis was actually defeated in 2018 in a countywide Superior Court judgeship race by a white candidate, Kevin Farmer.)
Willis is facing allegations that a sexual affair with her special prosecutor Nathan Wade benefited her financially and should disqualify her and her entire office from prosecuting Trump and the GOP co-defendants. Willis and Wade originally denied the allegations yet later were forced to admit their affair began after he was hired as a special prosecutor. They took expensive trips and had lavish dinners together yet there are no receipts for the reimbursements she claimed occurred. And at least one witness swears under oath their relationship began as early as 2019—before Wade was hired.
Another potentially strong contender against Willis— this time in the May 21 Democratic Party primary– is Christian Wise Smith. He is a former Fulton prosecutor and Atlanta city solicitor who lost to Willis in a 2020 race. The far-left candidate campaigned in 2020 for DA, drawing 23 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary. Smith campaigned against the death penalty, no cash bail and favored the decriminalization of drug possession.
