A battleground or swing state refers to any state that could be won by either the Democratic or Republican presidential candidate by a swing in votes. The state of Georgia has voted Republican since 1992, according to The New York Times on Nov. 9, 2020 — this is the first time in 28 years they voted for a Democratic Presidential candidate.
President-elect Joe Biden won against President Trump by about 10,000 votes out of five million. The majority-white counties voted for President Trump, but their votes did not stop Biden from winning. Black voters supported Biden over Trump. In Fulton County, which consists of most of Atlanta’s north and south suburbs, Trump secured about 136,000 votes, compared to 
Biden’s 377,000.
To the east in Dekalb County and a half dozen other suburban counties surrounding Atlanta, Trump tallied more votes this election. This year more people registered to vote in the state of Georgia thanks to a 2016 administrative change that made registering to vote the default option on the driver’s registration form.
In the 2016 election, about 211,000 votes were split between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Georgia, a traditionally Republican southern state, has become more competitive. Many of the suburbs in Georgia are becoming more diverse, which is a good thing for the Democratic party. Associate professor of political science at Georgia State University stated:
New voters will on balance be lower-income, and they’re probably more likely to identify with the Democratic Party.
Written by Jessica Letcher
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
The Washington Post: How Georgia became a swing state for the first time in decades; by Kevin Schaul, Harry Stevens, and Dan Keating
Vox: Why Georgia was so competitive for Democrats this year; by Ella Nilsen
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Jimmy Emerson, DVM’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of nodigio’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
