G.O.P. leaders, including Gov. Brian Kemp, are shielding Fani T. Willis from political threats, not so much to protect her, as to protect the image of the state.
There the focus is on Donald Trump, and the elected leaders owe a lot of their political strength to a segment of voters signaling a desire to enter a post-Trump era.
Appeals by the former president’s supporters to change the state’s rules on pardons, and to investigate or even impeach the prosecutor in the case, will likely go nowhere, at least for now.
State officials who rejected Donald Trump’s calls to subvert the election results say the party must move on from 2020 in order to defeat President Biden in 2024.