Fulton County DA Fani Willis was interviewed by Rachel Maddow the night before the Democratic primary and she cited her appearance on the show in her victory speech.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported:
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis routed Christian Wise Smith in the Democratic primary as she readied for a November contest against Republican Courtney Kramer. Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, meanwhile, easily won a full term.
Willis’ victory over Wise Smith was never in doubt. But she hoped to run up the score against Wise Smith to put her in strong position in November, when Trump’s allies are likely to rally around Kramer. Even so, Willis is heavily favored to keep her seat in the Democratic bastion.
Her allies hope a sweeping victory would put a stamp of approval on the way she runs the office — and her strategy for pursuing the closely watched Trump trial, which could be delayed until 2025 as an appeals court considers a challenge.
Willis mentioned the Maddow appearance in her victory speech:
In a 14-minute victory speech, DA Willis thanks supporters, family and colleagues in attendance. She mentions her appearance on Maddow last night in which the MSNBC host said the race was a bellwether for democracy. Calls GOP opponent Courtney Kramer unqualified pic.twitter.com/S0L2Bd5G04
— Tamar Hallerman (@TamarHallerman) May 22, 2024
There is no doubt that Willis, who doesn’t do many national media appearances, was helped by sitting down with Rachel Maddow to talk about her accomplishments as DA and the fact that the Georgia state legislature’s Republicans never thought that oversight of local DAs was needed until 14 African-American DAs were elected.
DA Willis is expected to easily retain her position in deep blue Fulton County in November. Willis’s supporters wanted to send a message with a big victory on primary day, and they accomplished that task, as her interview served as a reminder of the power of Rachel Maddow to reach Democratic voters.
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