The judge still has not set a trial date for the Trump case. It is expected to take place next year, though if Mr. Trump is elected, it is not clear whether he would be part of it. The question of whether a sitting president could be tried in state court would likely be fought out in higher courts, and might ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.
Judge McAfee, according to campaign finance records, had raised more than $327,000 as of May 2, including $100,000 that he gave to his own campaign. Mr. Patillo has raised about $11,800, records show. A third candidate, Tiffani Johnson, who, like Mr. Patillo, is Black and a Democrat, has raised more than $17,000. But Ms. Johnson was disqualified for failing to meet residency requirements, a decision she is trying to have reversed.
On the first Sunday in May, Judge McAfee, his wife and one of his two children were in attendance at Antioch Baptist Church North in Bankhead, a historically Black neighborhood in Atlanta. They were warmly received there.
“You have the job that most people would not want to have, and we are praying for you and praying for your family,” the Rev. Kenneth Lamont Alexander said, addressing Judge McAfee from the pulpit. The flock applauded.
The judge said he was looking forward to winning and “getting back to work.” An accomplished cellist whose instrument has not seen much use of late, he said that some friends had asked him to play at their wedding in Charleston, S.C., on Memorial Day weekend. Winning, he noted, might one day allow him to both officiate and play a wedding.
“Only locked in for the cello right now,” he said.
