“New residents have absolutely played a role, not only in our shifting demographics, but also in what’s possible with our politics, and soon with policy,” says Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, a nonpartisan voter registration group.

“This influx of people coming into our state from not only across the country but across the globe, has only sort of underscored Georgia as this (cosmopolitan) melting pot, gathering place, in the Deep South.”

Georgia ranked as the top fifth state to welcome the most newcomers in 2019, according to a US Census Bureau report. More than 50,000 people came from abroad, while thousands relocated from other states, including Florida, Texas, California and New York.

It’s worth pointing out the state’s flip during the Presidential elections is largely credited to Black women and their years-long efforts to register voters and get them to the polls — efforts backed by community leaders like Abrams and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, among others.