Just like that, everything has changed politically in Georgia and the rest of the nation. And Harris adapted well to the new landscape.

With lightning-quick speed, Harris cemented support from state establishment leaders, delegates and activists — while scooping up endorsements from her most formidable potential challengers across the nation.

She appeared in near-total command of the president’s far-reaching campaign apparatus in Georgia and beyond — and seemed on a glide path toward making history as the first Black woman to earn a major party’s presidential nomination.

Her ascendance has spurred a similar rise in enthusiasm among Democrats in this battleground state less than four months before the election.

While Biden was still the candidate, senior Democrats were growing increasingly dour about his chances of rekindling the coalition that fueled his upset 2020 victory, but many described Harris as a burst of energy in a race that had for months appeared to be tilting Trump’s way.

“The game has changed,” said Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, an influential Democrat who immediately endorsed Harris. “It’s just gotten real.”

Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

Republicans wasted no time turning their focus against Harris, framing her as an extension of an unpopular Biden administration who failed to stem rising inflation and secure the U.S. border with Mexico.

An exclusive Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released Sunday showed Trump leading Harris in Georgia just outside the margin of error, telegraphing a close race in a state both campaigns are fiercely contesting.

Julianne Thompson, a prominent GOP organizer, expressed confidence that she and other delegates to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee put forward an “uplifting and unifying” message to voters.

“Republicans showed the country that we are the party of strength, safety and success. But we do not take anything for granted,” she said. “The pathway to victory runs through Georgia. And we will not take our foot off the gas until we win back the White House.”

‘Eyes on the prize’

The quick consolidation behind Harris dizzied even hardened political observers. Within hours, Harris appeared to unite disparate factions of the party’s base, with liberals, moderates and Black leaders each bestowing their blessing. By late Monday, there were no obvious blocs of opposition to Harris.

U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens each quickly endorsed Harris. So did U.S. Reps. Sanford Bishop, Hank Johnson, Lucy McBath and Williams, many state legislators, and Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for governor the past two elections.

“Remember, defeating Donald Trump was always the goal,” said Williams, who chairs the Democratic Party of Georgia. “Sending Kamala Harris to the Oval Office is how we get there. Eyes on the prize.”

State Sen. Nan Orrock was among the broad majority of Georgia’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention who told the AJC earlier this month that she unequivocally backed Biden. This week, she helped to circulate a letter among the 109 delegates declaring support for Harris. By late Monday, the state party announced the entire delegation had endorsed Harris.

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

“I was always a firm believer that if Biden decided to step down the person to replace her is the vice president,” said Orrock, who first met Harris more than a decade ago when she was San Francisco’s top prosecutor.

“This is electrifying our base and drawing friends that might have stayed home otherwise,” Orrock said. “There’s hardly a person I know that didn’t make a contribution online.”

Many seemed eager to end the ferocious infighting that has split the party since Biden’s faltering debate performance last month in Atlanta exposed deep divisions about whether he had the physical and mental health to defeat Trump and serve another term.

Former U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, one of the few well-known Georgia Democrats to call for Biden to end his reelection bid, said Harris could change the dynamics in a state where party leaders worried about sagging enthusiasm among the party’s most loyal voters.

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Credit: Miguel Martinez

“If she positions herself correctly, Harris may be able both to drive up the Black vote sky high, energize Asians and other immigrant communities, and pull in suburban moderates,” Bourdeaux said. “Her profile is the kind that can do this.”

Others said Harris could take a more aggressive stance on abortion rights access — one of the party’s signature issues — than the 81-year-old Biden. Democrats see Trump’s support for abortion limits as one of his most glaring vulnerabilities.

“Trump has and will continue to strip women of our freedom,” said state Rep. Shea Roberts, an Atlanta Democrat who has publicly shared the story of how she had an abortion nearly two decades ago.

‘Historic point’

Despite the surge of support, Harris faces many hurdles. Republicans are set to file legal challenges seeking to block any shift of Biden’s campaign structure to Harris. She must consolidate support among her skeptics and reassure Democrats who see her rise to the top of the ticket as a coronation.

And she must work to sharpen her image among voters before Republicans can do so first. Already, Trump has changed his message, warning that Harris “will be worse” than Biden.

The AJC poll conducted earlier this month highlights some of Harris’ vulnerabilities. More than half of likely Georgia voters have an unfavorable view of her, including 55% of independents, about one-quarter of moderates and nearly 10% of Democrats.

Credit: Photo contributed by the candidate

Credit: Photo contributed by the candidate

State Rep. Shelly Hutchinson, a Gwinnett County Democrat and one of the party’s top Black officials, said she’s particularly worried about racism and misogyny galvanizing some of her opponents.

“I’m more worried about her being a Black woman. We had a white woman who couldn’t do it. We’re going to have to work hard to push her over the finish line,” Hutchinson said, referring to Hillary Clinton’s losing 2016 campaign against Trump.

“I think that will be a bigger issue than swing voters — people who just don’t want to see a woman in the top office,” Hutchinson said. “And I think there are a lot of people who feel that way, and you won’t know how they feel until they get into the ballot box.”

Johnson, the Savannah mayor, didn’t disagree. He was among those “shocked” by the timing of Biden’s withdrawal, which came just a day after senior Georgia Democrats gathered in Augusta for a meeting that centered on Biden’s plans to press forward.

One of the upsides, he said, was the “whole game plan for the other team has to change because now the oldest guy in the election” is 78-year-old Trump.

But could the first Black female and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president win the nation’s highest office? Johnson paused for a moment.

“That is the question. That is a blunt question. But the reality is whether a convicted felon can win the presidency,” he said, invoking a verdict against Trump in a New York hush money trial.

“We’re at this historic point of time where these questions have to be asked. And only the American people can answer them.”