Fulton County District Attorney Fani WIllis defeated her Democratic rival Tuesday in Georgia’s primary election in a landslide.
The 52-year-old prosecutor’s victory over attorney and author Christian Wise Smith comes as she faces multiple investigations launched by state and federal lawmakers over her alleged misuse of taxpayer money.
“We can’t keep turning a blind eye to what’s going on in that office,” Wise Smith argued on the campaign trail Monday.
“Chaos. Corruption. It’s time for us in Fulton County to stand up and take our justice system back,” he said in his plea to voters.
Willis, who was first elected to head the Atlanta-area DAs office in 2020, saw her profile dramatically rise after leading the historic criminal investigation and subsequent indictment of former President Donald Trump over his alleged involvement in a plot to overturn the Peach State’s 2020 election results.
Willis made no references to the Trump case in a recent three-minute long campaign ad, in which she touted going after “gangs and violent offenders.”
“We’ve seen the third largest crime drop in America,” she claimed in the campaign spot.
She predicted Monday that she would “win big” over Wise Smith despite the allegations of misconduct against her.
With about 55% of the ballots counted by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Willis had nearly 90% of the vote, according to the Associated Press.
In January, nearly five months after charging Trump and his 18 co-defendants – four of which have pleaded guilty – in her sprawling racketeering case, allegations surfaced that Willis had an “improper” romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to handle the 2020 elections case.
In February, Willis admitted to having a “personal relationship” with Wade, and her paramour was forced to resign from the Trump case by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee.
Wade collected nearly $654,000 in legal fees since 2022 from the Fulton County DA’s Office for his work on the Trump case, and allegedly paid for multiple lavish trips he took with WIllis while employed by her office.
On Capitol Hill, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is investigating whether Willis misused federal money received from the Justice Department during her investigation into Trump.
Willis has accused Jordan of attempting to “interfere in a criminal investigation” and being “illegitimate” in his position.
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) are running a separate probe into whether the Fulton County DAs misused federal funds.
At the state level, a special committee in the Georgia Senate is investigating potential conflicts of interest and misuse of public funds by Willis related to her relationship with Wade.
Willis has vowed not to testify in the state Senate investigation, questioning the authority lawmakers have to subpoena her.
Willis will face Republican challenger Courtney Kramer in the general election in November.
The district attorney has blasted Kramer as “unqualified” to serve in the role.
Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee, who was randomly assigned last year to preside over the Trump case, also defeated his opponent Tuesday in a nonpartisan election.
The 34-year-old jurist was appointed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in December 2022 to fill a vacant judicial spot and he will now serve a full four-year term starting in January.
McAfee beat civil rights attorney and media commentator Robert Patillo. He had received strong bipartisan support to keep his seat on the bench ahead of the election.