The Democratic prosecutor in Georgia pursuing an election case against Trump is facing a Republican challenger

ATLANTA – A Republican lawyer who interned in the White House under Donald Trump is challenging Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the Georgia prosecutor who filed charges against the former president over efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Courtney Kramer worked in the White House Counsel’s office during Trump’s presidency and is active in Republican organizations. She is the first Republican to run for Fulton County prosecutor since 2000.

Fulton County, home to 11% of the state’s electorate and including most of the city of Atlanta, is a Democratic stronghold.

Willis took office in January 2021 after defeating her predecessor — and former boss — longtime District Attorney Paul Howard in a bitter 2020 Democratic primary.

Just a month into her term, she made headlines when she announced in February 2021 that she was investigating whether Trump and others broke laws while trying to overturn his narrow loss in the state to Democrat Joe Biden. Two and a half years later, after an investigation that required dozens of witnesses to be called before a special grand jury, she received an extensive indictment against Trump and eighteen others in August 2023.

Four people have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the other defendants have all pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

When she entered the race for district attorney in March, Kramer said Trump’s prosecution was politically motivated and a waste of resources. But she said if she becomes prosecutor, she will recuse herself from that case because she worked with two of the defendants.

Kramer, 31, said one of her top priorities will be to focus on “front-end prosecution,” which she said means quickly reviewing cases as they come in so bond decisions can be made, discovery can are made to lawyers and advocates. a decision can be made as to whether an early plea can be used to resolve the case.

Willis, 53, said she is proud of the pre-indictment diversion program she started and a program in schools to encourage students to choose alternatives to gangs and crime, as well as the reduction in homicides and deprivation in unindicted cases during her term. She said she would focus on creating more provincial resources for victims of domestic violence during a second term.