In the only contested Fulton County Superior Court race, veteran Fulton prosecutor Fani Willis and Clayton County prosecutor Kevin Farmer are heading into a July 24 runoff election.

Out of 100,242 total ballots, Willis won 49 percent of the vote to Farmer's 31 percent. Bobby Wolf came in last with 20 percent. The winner will fill the seat of retiring Judge Tom Campbell.

Willis said she was gratified with the results Wednesday, which exceeded her expectations.

“We knew that we should be coming in as the front-runner, but we were realistic that we would probably be in a runoff,” she said. “But the results were even higher than we expected. Now we just need those voters to come back out and support us July 24.”

Willis said she was up early Wednesday making phone calls as she enters the second stretch of her campaign.

“My opponent and I both have civil and criminal experience, but I am by far the better choice,” Willis said. “The people of Fulton County want quality judges, and another eight weeks [of campaigning] is a small price to pay for them to have the judge they deserve.”

Willis, 46, began her career in private practice before moving to the office of Atlanta SoIicitor Raines Carter. After a couple of years, she signed on with Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr., rising to the position of executive assistant DA in the Complex Case Division and trying “literally hundreds of felony cases.”

Farmer said he was happy to make the runoff and had worried that neither he nor Wolf would get enough votes to make it to the July 24 contest.

“I knew when Bobby jumped into the race that there was a real possibility of that,” Farmer said.

“I was truly humbled by the number of people who came out to vote,” he said, noting that the voter turnout was up substantially over that for the two past elections.

“I think the governor's race definitely pushed people to the polls,” Farmer said. “It truly makes you think, 'I've got to serve these people.'”

The issue now is getting voters back to the polls, Farmer said.

“It's really a shoe-leather campaign now,” he said. “The turnout will probably be much lower, so getting the word out and getting people to come back is the big issue.”

Farmer said he was up past midnight Tuesday watching the results.

“When that 100 percent [of the vote] comes in, you're tired but you get enthused and realize, 'I've got to go forward.' Adrenaline is an amazing thing,” Farmer said.

Farmer also had a kind word for Wolf.

“I tip my cap to Bobby,” he said. “He's a good man and he ran a good clean race.”

Farmer, 49, began his legal career with the Fulton County Public Defender, then spent about 10 years in private practice before joining the Metro Conflict Defender's Office in 2011.

Farmer switched roles in 2015, joining the office of Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson, where he serves as a senior prosecutor.