… Before the election, The Trailer broke down Georgia’s map as part of our “political geography” series, and pointed out that there was enough Democratic growth in the racially diverse and highly educated suburbs of Atlanta to put the state in play. That’s exactly what happened. That’s what Republicans fear will happen again, if they don’t turn out their vote and convince Georgians that Democratic wins would end America as we know it. …
The shifts that flipped Georgia — and narrowly forced Sen. David Perdue into one of the runoffs — were visible before the book closed on the 2016 election. That year, Trump won just 50.4 percent of the vote, worse than any previous Republican nominee this century, and it was entirely due to shifts around the state’s biggest city. Democrats spent four years on the attack, and it worked. But Republicans down the ballot outran Trump and have a clear path to victory in the Jan. 5 runoffs. Georgia’s new map, with Republicans reeling around Atlanta and gaining in rural counties, is destined to be competitive. CONTINUED
David Weigel, Washington Post