“As Democrats inched closer to flipping both of Georgia’s Senate seats from the incumbent Republicans, credit began to flow to one person broadly acknowledged as being most responsible for Georgia’s new status as a Democratic state: Stacey Abrams,” as The New York Times is reporting this morning.
“Ms. Abrams, the former minority leader of the Georgia state House, has spent a decade building a Democratic political infrastructure in the state, first with her New Georgia Project and now with Fair Fight, the voting rights organization she founded in the wake of her losing campaign for governor in 2018.
“Late Tuesday night, Ms. Abrams came close to declaring victory in a tweet that praised the thousands of ‘organizers, volunteers, canvassers & tireless groups’ who helped rebuild the state’s Democratic Party from the rump it was when she became the state House minority leader in 2011.’
“While Ms. Abrams is widely expected to run for governor again in 2022, she is at the moment one of the most influential American politicians not in elected office. It was her political infrastructure and strategy of increasing turnout among the state’s Black, Latino and Asian voters that laid the groundwork for both President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory in November and the Democrats’ performance in the Senate races.Ms. Abrams was not alone in Georgia, of course: Numerous other Black women have led a decades-long organizing effort to transform the state’s electorate.”
The rest of the article is here.
Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report 
Barack Obama posted this on his Facebook page this morning:
“My friend John Lewis is surely smiling down on his beloved Georgia this morning, as people across the state carried forward the baton that he and so many others passed down to them.
“I want to congratulate Reverend Raphael Warnock on his election as Georgia’s next U.S. Senator—and while we’re still waiting on final results in the other runoff, it’s clear that last night’s showing, alongside President-Elect Biden’s November victory in Georgia, is a testament to the power of the tireless and often unheralded work of grassroots organizing and the resilient, visionary leadership of Stacey Abrams.
“Georgia’s first Black senator will make the chamber more reflective of our country as a whole and open the door for a Congress that can forego gridlock for gridlock’s sake to focus instead on the many crises facing our nation—pandemic relief for struggling families, voting rights, protecting our planet, and more.
“Democrats in Georgia and across the country should feel good today. But the past four years show us that even outside of election season—and outside of races that garner national attention—we’ve got to remain engaged in civic life. From police reforms to gerrymandering decisions, many levers of real and lasting progress are found at the state and local levels, and further advancements depend on us vigilantly honoring the precious, sometimes fragile gift of the American experiment.
“In recent years, our institutions, our democracy, and truth itself have been greatly tested by those who’ve chosen to prioritize personal gain or political ambition over our democratic principles. And even a good election will not eliminate those threats.
“Yet we should also remember that in two weeks, we will inaugurate a new president. He will have a chance to work with a new Senate and House on the business of the American people. If we want to protect the gains we’ve made, achieve even more progress in the years to come, and reinforce the foundations of self-governance on which our country rests, there’s no better path to follow than the one forged by the determined, organized, and confidently hopeful people of Georgia.”
https://www.facebook.com/barackobama/