Georgia’s Democratic prosecutors pursuing the election case against Trump face a Republican challenger

ATLANTA (AP) – A Republican lawyer who interned in the White House under Donald Trump is challenging Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the Georgia prosecutor who brought charges against the former president over the 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 GOP organizations. She is the first Republican to run for district attorney in Fulton County since 2000.

Home to 11% of the state’s voters and encompassing most of the city of Atlanta, Fulton County is a Democratic stronghold.

Willis took office in January 2021 after beat its predecessor – and former boss – longtime District Attorney Paul Howard in a bitter Democratic primary battle in 2020.

She made headlines just a month into her tenure when she announced in February 2021 that she was investigating whether Trump and others broke any 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 included calling dozens of witnesses before a special grand juryshe received a sweeping racketeering indictment against Trump and 18 others in August 2023.

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

When she participated in the national attorney’s race in March, Kramer said the Trump impeachment was a politically motivated case and a waste of resources. But she said if she becomes district attorney, 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 involves reviewing cases quickly as they come in so bond decisions can be made, discovery can be granted to defense lawyers and a decision can be made as to whether an early plea offer can be used to resolve the case.

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