Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is facing the most significant challenge of her legal career as defense attorneys push to disqualify her from the prosecution of former President Donald Trump and his allies.
Could she soon face a new political challenge as well?
As Willis clashed with defense attorneys Thursday during hours of tense testimony over her personal life, political circles buzzed with reminders that she faces an upcoming electoral test, too.
Willis, a Democrat, is up for a second term in November and she could face rivals who could turn the election into a proxy fight over the election interference case.
Potential opponents have yet to announce, but we’ll have clarity when the weeklong qualifying period begins on March 4. Republican officials say they’re working to solidify a contender, while some Democrats suspect Willis could also face a primary challenge.
She’s no stranger to tough contests. After losing a bid for a Fulton County judgeship in 2018, she challenged her former boss, six-term District Attorney Paul Howard, in 2020. She won with a bipartisan coalition and a tough-on-crime platform.
Former state Sen. Jen Jordan, the Democratic nominee for attorney general in 2022, said she wouldn’t be surprised if a “gadfly on the Republican side who is just there to make trouble” decides to run.
“At the end of the day, this is for the Fulton County voters to determine whether or not they’re happy with what Fani Willis has done on the job,” Jordan told Politically Georgia. “Not who she’s dating. Not what she’s doing when she’s off the job. But what she’s done as the district attorney.”
Among the names we’ve heard bubble up as a potential candidate is Howard’s, a former mentor of Willis. The incumbent’s allies say she has nothing to fear.
“Somebody thinking they can beat Fani Willis in a primary shows they have zero understanding of the Democratic electorate,” said Charlie Bailey, a Willis confidante who was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022. “Fani Willis can be DA until she is 100 if she so chooses.”
***
THAT’S NOT ALL. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis isn’t the only key player in the blockbuster Donald Trump election interference trial up for a vote this year. Also on the 2024 ballot is Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who presides over the case.
Gov. Brian Kemp appointed McAfee, a former prosecutor and state inspector general, to the bench in December 2022 and he was sworn in two months later.
And rounding out the Trump trial names on the 2024 ballot, of course, is the former president himself.
***
Jason Getz/AJC
Jason Getz/AJC
WILLIS REAX. Like so much else, the reaction to the daylong Fani Willis hearing was split along familiar lines.
The Fulton district attorney’s supporters cheered as she jousted with defense attorneys and peppered folksy observations into her testimony. Her critics said her combative style did her no favors.
Once more reticent about defending Willis, a number of Democratic leaders issued statements supporting her. State Sen. Elena Parent of Atlanta, one of the chamber’s top Democrats, said the hearing “produced nothing that shows the case was brought for any reason other than its merits.”
Arvin Temkar/AJC
Arvin Temkar/AJC
And state Rep. Sam Park, a senior party leader in the House from Lawrenceville, said the hearing confirmed that the accusations were “nothing more than a scheme to mislead and distract the American public.
“It’s clear these claims are another example of Trump’s ongoing attacks against institutions of American democracy — just like his failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election and stop the peaceful transfer of power,” said Park.
Republicans declared the hearing a disaster for Willis. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones touted the Senate’s recent vote to create a committee with subpoena powers to investigate Willis’ use of public resources.
“What we saw today was startling. Inconsistencies compounded by even more questions about how taxpayer money was used,” he said, adding there are “even more questions that need to be addressed after today.”
***
Christina Matacotta for the AJC
Christina Matacotta for the AJC
LISTEN UP. Former state Sen. Jen Jordan joined the “Politically Georgia” radio show Thursday to talk about the high-stakes hearing on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Willis’ relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. And the AJC’s Mark Niesse called in to talk about this week’s decision from the State Election Board to keep no-excuse absentee voting in Georgia.
Tune in later today as hosts Bill Nigut, Tia Mitchell, Greg Bluestein and Patricia Murphy break down all the developments in another packed week of Georgia politics.
Listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. And listen to Friday’s show live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 FM, at AJC.com and at WABE.org.
***
Casey Sykes
Casey Sykes
UNDER THE GOLD DOME, Legislative Day 22:
- 8 a.m.: Committee meetings begin.
- 9 a.m.: The Senate convenes.
- 9 a.m.: The House gavels in.
***
Arvin Temkar/AJC
Arvin Temkar/AJC
OUT OF THE HOPPER. The House Public Health Committee unanimously passed House Bill 1170 Thursday, legislation that would require Georgia courthouses and government buildings to keep Narcan on-hand to treat people who have overdosed on opioids.
The reversal drugs would be kept inside kits with automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, which treat people experiencing a heart attack or cardiac arrest. The measure expands upon HB 1035 from the committee’s chairwoman, state Rep. Sharon Cooper, which makes opioid reversal drugs more easily available through vending machines. The Marietta Republican’s bill passed the House unanimously and now heads to the state Senate.
***
Natrice Miller/AJC
Natrice Miller/AJC
POST-PANDEMIC. You could soon no longer see those COVID-19 transmission warnings as you enter Georgia businesses.
Senate Bill 430 passed unanimously Wednesday and would remove the requirement that businesses have visible signs warning of the chances of contracting COVID-19 to avoid liability for employees or customers getting sick. Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, was the bill’s primary sponsor.
Businesses will still not be liable for anyone who gets sick.
As one senator told our AJC colleague Maya T. Prabhu, “Those signs are just silly at this point.”
***
Arvin Temkar/AJC
Arvin Temkar/AJC
DIRECT DEMOCRACY. Georgians are unable to vote directly on issues such as abortion, gun control and Medicaid expansion, but instead have to rely on elected lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Legislature to pass laws.
That would change under a Democrat-sponsored proposal, House Bill 1279, introduced Thursday to amend the Georgia Constitution to allow voters to force referendums if they collect enough signatures.
“Republicans won’t even give us a hearing. They won’t let the people talk about these things that are important to them,” Democratic state Rep. Shea Roberts said during a press conference covered by our AJC colleague Mark Niesse. “That’s not the representative democracy that our forefathers promised.”
In other Republican-held states, such as Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio, voters used statewide initiatives to protect abortion access. In all, 26 states now allow statewide initiatives or referendums.
Under the proposal, initiatives for new laws would land on the ballot if they get signatures from at least 10% of voters in the last presidential election, spread out over at least half of Georgia’s congressional districts.
Then in an election, the initiative would require two-thirds approval to pass. Referendums amending existing laws would face a slightly lower threshold to get on the ballot — signatures from 8% of voters — and at least 60% support would be needed for passage.
The direct democracy idea faces long odds in the General Assembly. Constitutional amendments require at least two-thirds approval by both the House and Senate, where Republicans hold solid majorities.
***
Bob Andres/AJC
Bob Andres/AJC
POWER PLAYER. Of all the committees in the Georgia General Assembly, the Rules panels are the most influential. Rules is akin to a checkpoint for bills that passed other committees before those measures go to the full chamber for vote.
The Georgia House has a new Rules Committee chairman in Rep. Butch Parrish, a Swainsboro Republican and 40-year veteran lawmaker. Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, named Parrish to the role Thursday. Parrish succeeds Rep. Richard Smith, who died unexpectedly on Jan. 30.
***
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden travels to East Palestine, Ohio, where he will be briefed on the continuing response and recovery efforts since a Norfolk Southern train derailed on Feb. 3, 2023. Afterward, Biden delivers remarks on how his administration has responded to the incident.
- Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
- Both chambers of Congress are in recess with the Senate returning Feb. 26 and the House on Feb. 28.
***
HIP-HOP CAUCUS. U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson is among four House Democrats who have formed a new caucus focused on promoting hip-hop music while also amplifying some of the social and economic issues present in rap lyrics.
Johnson, a Democrat from Lithonia, joins Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York, Andre Carson of Indiana and Delia Ramirez of Illinois in launching what is formally titled the Hip Hop Power and Justice Task Force. The group says it will engage with artists and other professionals in the hip hop industry while they explore issues including artistic freedom of expression, mass incarceration and access to health care.
“Hip hop resonates as the powerful soundtrack of our collective pursuit of social justice and equality and is the storytelling platform that unites generations,” Johnson said in a news release. “For that reason, it is important that we protect free speech through artistic expression. Respect is just a minimum.”
***
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
PURPLE RIBBON. The sight of purple ribbons around Waycross are the signs of a community in mourning ever since one of their own, Army reservist Sgt. Kennedy Sanders, and two colleagues were killed in a drone attack in Jordan on Jan. 28.
Ahead of Sanders’ funeral on Saturday, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter honored her in Washington. He placed a photo tribute to her outside of his congressional office and adorned it with a large purple ribbon at the top.
Arvin Temkar/AJC
Arvin Temkar/AJC
Carter, R-St Simons Island, also distributed ribbon pins to his colleagues in the House, urging them to wear the tributes as they returned home to their districts. The ribbons are a sign of remembrance for Sanders, Sgt. Breonna Moffett and Staff Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, as well as a show of support for their loved ones.
Moffett’s funeral is Saturday as well. Her remains returned to her hometown of Savannah on Thursday, and hundreds of locals congregated on sidewalks to pay their respects during a motorcade procession through the city.
Rivers’ funeral was Tuesday in Carrollton.
***
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. If there was ever a well-named dog, it’s Buddy Lee.
Buddy lived the first 10 years of his life in his first buddy’s backyard in Riverdale. When that buddy went into assisted living at 95, Buddy moved to Coweta County to live with two dogs, Blaze and Bella, and three new buddies, Politically Georgia newsletter devotee Marian Lee, Cheryl Peterson and Beth Bailey Summers.
A reliable source reports that Buddy now spends his days bringing joy and sunshine into people’s lives and being the best buddy a person could have.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and location, and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC.
***
AS ALWAYS, Politically Georgia readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com, and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
