Fani Willis' Chances of Losing Primary With 2 Weeks to Election

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis attends a hearing in Atlanta, Georgia on November 21, 2023. Willis is set to face off against her primary challenger Christian Wise Smith later this month.

In two weeks, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is facing voters for the first time since launching her investigation into former President Donald Trump.

Willis rose to national prominence over her investigation into the former president’s alleged attempts at overturning the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, a swing state that narrowly backed President Joe Biden. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has accused Willis of targeting him for political purposes.

Republicans have scrutinized her conduct more closely amid the investigation, and Willis has faced several controversies ahead of the May 21 Democratic primary, in which she is set to battle challenger, attorney Christian Wise Smith.

Lawyers representing one of Trump’s co-defendants pushed for her disqualification from the election interference case over her relationship with Nathan Wade, a prosecutor brought onto the investigation; Judge Scott McAfee ultimately declined to order her removal, instead saying Wade could remove himself.

Meanwhile, she is also facing an investigation from Republican legislators in Georgia into allegations of misconduct related to “potential conflicts of interest and misuse of public funds.” She has maintained that she has not engaged in any wrongdoing.

Still, according to one poll, Willis appears favored to win renomination against Wise Smith.

The poll was conducted by Georgia-based political consultant Fred Hicks and surveyed 1,000 likely Democratic voters from April 20 to 23. It found that 79 percent of respondents plan to back Willis in the primary, while 9 percent said they are voting for Wise Smith.

The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Richard McDaniel, Wise Smith’s senior advisor, told Newsweek the campaign feels “very positive about our chances of getting the District Attorney’s office back on track and ensuring the safety of the people of Fulton County.”

“This campaign is about righting the wrongs of the past in the justice system so that citizens from Alpharetta to Atlanta can feel safe knowing they have a District Attorney dedicated to serving Fulton County’s residents,” McDaniel said.

Newsweek reached out to Willis’ campaign for comment via email.

With regards to fundraising, Willis last filed a disclosure on February 7, 2024, which revealed that by the end of January, she had raised $326,042 for her reelection bid and had spent about $122,672. She had a total balance on hand of $203,370.

Meanwhile, Wise Smith’s latest fundraising filing from April 7, 2024, showed that he had raised $77,726 and spent about $19,882. According to the filing, he had a total of $57,844 on hand.

Willis may benefit from being the incumbent district attorney. Political analysts say that incumbents are generally viewed as having an advantage in elections due to higher name recognition and access to more resources to campaign.

Whoever wins is expected to be viewed as strongly favored to win the general election, as Fulton County is a deeply Democratic county that gave Biden nearly 73 percent of its vote in 2020.

Willis first ran for district attorney in 2020, mounting a challenge to former DA Paul Howard Jr. She won a runoff against Howard with about 72 percent of the vote and then ran unopposed in the general election.

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