Thursday, December 31, 2020

Addition of 625 New Cases Of COVID-19 In Northeast Health District Pushes Up Seven-Day Rolling Average Of Added Cases To New Record

***One Death Added; COVID Patients At Hospital Increase***

The Northeast Health District added 625 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, pushing up the seven-day rolling average of added cases to a new high of 412.6 cases per day. Fifty-six of those new cases were in Oconee County, and 100 were in Clarke County.

The Northeast Health District also added one death in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report. The Department of Community Health did not list any deaths in its Thursday Long-Term Care Facility Report.

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds 494 COVID-19 Cases And Seven Deaths From Disease With Release Of State Reports On Wednesday

***Two Of Deaths in Clarke County***

The Northeast Health District added 494 new cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths from the disease with the release of state health department reports on Wednesday. Two of the deaths were in Clarke County.

Three of the deaths were listed in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report, and four were listed in the Department of Community Health Long-Term Care Facility Report, also distributed by the Department of Public Health.

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds Record 779 COVID-19 Cases And Four Deaths From Disease

***Oconee County Added 113 New Cases, Clarke 126***

The Northeast Health District added 779 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the largest number ever added in a single day, as well as four deaths from the disease with the release of the Department of Public Health and Department of Community Health reports.

Two of the deaths were listed in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report and were of an 80-year-old male in Barrow County with a chronic condition and of an 81-year-old male in Jackson County with a chronic condition.

Oconee County Board of Elections Rejects True The Vote Challenge To Elegibility of 1,450 County Voters

***Challenger Daugherty Told Her Appeal Is To Superior Court***

The Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration on Monday unanimously rejected a challenge by Oconee County resident Patricia Daugherty on behalf of Houston, Texas, based True The Vote of the eligibility of 1,450 Oconee County voters to participate in the Jan. 5 runoff election.

The motion passed by the Board said there was no probable cause of a violation of Georgia law that would render the voters ineligible to cast a ballot.

Kirk Shook, the Republican Party representative on the Board, made the motion to reject the challenge, and Ken Davis, the Democratic Party representative on the Board, offered the second.

Sarah Virginia Bell: 1955-2020

Oconee County lost a dedicated citizen activist who cared immensely about its political and social life on Monday morning when Sarah Bell found peace after a difficult struggle with cancer.

Sarah ran for office, coordinated candidate forums, engaged in historical research, and spoke up at meeting after meeting on issues of importance to her and this county.

As A Candidate 2011
Sarah devoted much energy to Republican politics, at the local, state, and national levels. She was a strong advocate of transparency and citizen engagement, and in that we found a common bond.

Sarah volunteered to help me with this blog about 10 years ago. We made a deal. I would buy a camera and tripod. She would attend meetings I could not attend and video record them. I would use the video in my reporting and upload it to Vimeo for anyone wishing to make use of it.

Monday, December 28, 2020

Northeast Health District Added 151 COVID-19 Cases On Monday And Five Deaths Attributed To Disease

***Test Positivity Rates Up In Oconee, Clarke And District***

The Northeast Health District added 151 COVID-19 cases on Monday, the smallest number added in three weeks, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases dropped for the second day in a row.

The District added a death in Oconee County and another in Clarke County in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report and two deaths in Clarke County and one in Elbert County in the Department of Community Health Long-Term Care Facility Report.

County Attorney Identifies Three Options For Oconee County Board Of Elections And Registration As It Responds To Elector Challenge

***Early Voting In Final Days***

The Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration has three options when it meets at 5 p.m. on Monday to hear a challenge of the eligibility of selected registered voters to cast a ballot in the Jan. 5 runoff election, according to County Attorney Daniel Haygood.

The Board can find probable cause and challenge each of the voters on a list provided to the Board by Patricia Daugherty, 5041 Price Mill Road, west of Bishop, Haygood said. Challenged voters could be allowed to vote, but their ballots would be provisional, he said.

Sunday, December 27, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds 237 COVID-19 Cases, No Deaths From Disease; Area Hospitals Continue To Add COVID-19 Patients

***Rolling Averages Of Added Cases Drop In District, Oconee, Clarke***

The Northeast Health District added 237 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report. The Report contained no new added deaths in the District from the disease.

The District actually added 238 confirmed cases of COVID-19 based on molecular tests, but the District had a net loss of one case based on antigen tests, reflecting the irregularity of laboratory reporting on the weekends and following the Friday holiday.

Saturday, December 26, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds 302 New COVID-19 Cases And Deaths From Disease In Clarke, Barrow, And Madison Counties

*** Number Of COVID-19 Patients At Area Hospitals Up Again***

The Northeast Health District added 302 cases of COVID-19 with the release of Saturday’s Daily Status Report of the Department of Public Health as well as three deaths attributed to the disease--one each in Clarke, Barrow, and Madison counties

The Clarke County death was of an 81-year-old male without a chronic condition. The Barrow County death was of a 73-year-old female with a chronic condition. The Madison County death was of a 60-year-old male without a chronic condition.

Friday, December 25, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds 300 New Cases Of COVID-19 And One Death From Disease–In Oconee County

***COVID-19 Cases Increase At Area Hospitals***

The 10-county Northeast Health District added 300 new cases of COVID-19 and one death from the disease in holiday reporting on Friday.

The Oconee County death was of an 86-year-old male without a chronic condition. The death brings to 39 the number in the county attributed to the disease.

Thursday, December 24, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds Record Number Of COVID-19 Cases And Six Deaths From Disease With Thursday Public Health Report

***Area Hospital Also Report Record Number Of COVID-19 Patients***

The Northeast Health District added a record number of COVID-19 cases on Thursday–614–on a date the state broke 10,000 cases for the first time, with that volume of causing a delay in the issuance of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report.

The Northeast Health District also added six deaths attributed to the disease, a number exceeded only three times–on Sept. 1, when 10 deaths were recorded, and on June 2 and on Sept. 18, when seven were recorded.

Two of those deaths were in Clarke County, one was in Barrow County, and three were in Jackson County.

Oconee County Board Of Elections To Meet On Monday To Respond To Challenge Filed Against Eligibility Of County Voters

***Early Voting Takes Break Until After Christmas***

The Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. on Monday to respond to a challenge from Patricia Daughertry, 5041 Price Mill Road, west of Bishop, to the eligibility of more than 100 Oconee County registered voters to participate in the Jan. 5 runoff election.

Daugherty, who is active in Conservative Republican Woman of Northeast Georgia and challenged Sen. Bill Cowsert in the Republican primary in 2016, submitted a list of voters that she said “appear” to have moved out of the county.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Rolling Averages Of Added COVID-19 Cases Increase In Oconee, Clarke, And Northeast Health District

***Area Hospital Data Mostly Stable***

Seven-day rolling averages of added COVID-19 cases increased in Oconee and Clarke counties and in the 10-county Northeast Health District as a whole on Wednesday with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report.

The Northeast Health District also added two deaths attributed to the disease in the Daily Status Report.

Oconee County added 44 new COVID-19 cases, and Clarke County added 95, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases in Oconee increased from 34.3 on Tuesday to 37.7 on Wednesday while the seven-day rolling average in Clarke County increased from 67.1 on Tuesday to 68.7 on Wednesday.

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Oconee County Adds Third COVID-19 Death In Two Days As Northeast Health District Adds 435 COVID-19 Cases

***Area Hospitals Report Record Number of COVID-19 Patients***

Oconee County recorded its third death attributed to COVID-19 in two days with the release on Tuesday of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report.

The county also recorded 57 new cases of the disease, a new record.

The Oconee County death was the sole death listed in the the Daily Status Report for the 10-county Northeast Health District on Tuesday, and the seven-day rolling average of added deaths in that Report held steady at 2.0.

Monday, December 21, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds Two Deaths From COVID-19, Both In Oconee County, And 287 New COVID-19 Cases

***Oconee County Test Positivity Rate Rising Sharply***

The Northeast Health District added 287 COVID-19 cases on Monday when the Department of Public Health released its Daily Status Report and added two deaths from the disease–both in Oconee County.

The seven-day rolling average of added cases and deaths both increased with the release of the Monday Report.

The two Oconee County deaths were of a 51-year-old male without a chronic condition and of an 89-year-old male, also without a chronic condition.

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds 374 COVID-19 Cases And COVID-19 Death On Sunday; Oconee County Adds 45 Cases

***Oconee Schools Report Three New Cases***

The Northeast Health District added 374 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, 361 of them confirmed via molecular tests and 13 of them the product of rapid, antigen tests, as well as one of the two deaths from the disease reported in the state.

The death was of a 79-year-old female in Barrow County without a known chronic condition. The listing followed a death in the county in Saturday’s Daily Status Report and was the 63rd in the county attributed to the disease.

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Rolling Average Of Added COVID-19 Cases Up Slightly In Northeast Health District On Saturday; Three Deaths From Disease Reported

***COVID Patients At Area Hospitals Increased***

With the listing of 298 new cases of COVID-19 in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Saturday, the seven-day rolling average of added cases in the Northeast Health District increased to 380.9, up just slightly from the 379.4 average of Friday.

The 10-county Northeast Health District also added three deaths, including one in Clarke County, and the seven-day rolling average of added deaths in the District increased to 1.7 on Saturday from 1.3 on Friday.

Friday, December 18, 2020

State Reports 488 COVID-19 Cases And Three Deaths From Disease In Northeast Health District; Oconee Schools Reports Increase In Cases

***Death At Clarke County Nursing Home***

The Northeast Health District added 488 new cases of COVID-19–383 of them the result of molecular tests and 105 identified via antigen tests–and two deaths from the disease with the release of Friday’s Department of Public Health Daily Status Report.

Both of the dead were residents of Walton County. One was a 66-year-old female without a known chronic condition and the other was an 87-year-old male, also without a known chronic condition.

Thursday, December 17, 2020

State Lists Record 491 COVID-19 Cases In Northeast Health District Plus Deaths From Disease In Clarke And Barrow Counties

***Rolling Average of Added Cases Increases Again In Oconee***

The Department of Public Health reported 380 new cases of COVID-19 based on molecular tests and 111 based on antigen tests in the Northeast Health District on Thursday, setting a new record of single day added cases of the disease and a record seven-day rolling average of added cases.

Oconee County also set a new record seven-day rolling average of added cases of 23.7, up from 20.6 on Wednesday, and Clarke County’s seven-day rolling average of added cases fell just slightly from 69.4 on Wednesday to 69.3 on Thursday.

Strong Early Voting In Oconee County For Jan. 5 Runoff Gives Mixed Messages About Final Turnout

***Fewer Days For Early Voting***

More Oconee County voters have turned out on each of the first three days of early voting for the Jan. 5 runoff than turned on the first three days of early voting for the Nov. 3 general election, and the total number of votes cast in early voting stands at 4,123, or 12.9 percent of the county’s registered voters.

The number of absentee ballots returned so far (2,153), however, is behind the number received after the first three days of early voting in October for the November election.

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

State Reports 390 New COVID-19 Cases In Northest Health District And Four Deaths From Disease

***Oconee County Schools Tells Parents Of Five New Active Cases***

The Northeast Health District added 390 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report, which also listed three deaths in the District attributed to the disease.

The three deaths listed in the Daily Status Report were of an 85-year-old female in Elbert County without a chronic condition, a 28-year-old male in Jackson County without a known chronic condition, and an 83-year-old female in Walton County with a chronic condition.

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Northeast Health District Has Record Number Of COVID-19 Cases, 467, And Three Deaths From Disease

***Oconee County Schools Has Flare-Up In Final Week Of Classes***

The Department of Public Health reported a record number of COVID-19 cases–467--in the 10-county Northeast Health District on Tuesday, plus two deaths from the disease.

The Department of Community Health also reported a COVID-19 death at a long-term care facility in the Northeast Health District and a continued outbreak of the disease at Clarke County long-term care homes as well as at these facilities throughout the District.

Oconee County Schools since Friday has notified parents of at least 15 new active cases of COVID-19 at the county’s schools–tying the record number of active cases reported on Friday.

Monday, December 14, 2020

The Northeast Health District Added 202 New COVID-19 Cases; Area Hospitals Report Highest Number Of COVID-19 Patients Ever

***State Reports Three Deaths From Disease–One In Clarke County***

The Department of Public Health added 202 new COVID-19 cases in the Northeast Health District on Monday, and the Georgia Hospital Association reported that area hospitals added 29 new COVID-19 patients.

The Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) reported that the number of COVID-19 patients at Region E hospitals reached 173, the largest number ever reported going back to May 8, when those data were first made public. The previous high was 152 on Dec. 8 and then 143 on Aug. 4 and 5.

Sunday, December 13, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds 330 COVID-19 Cases In Daily Status Report; Area Hospitals Report ICU Bed Use Exceeds Normal Capacity

***No New Deaths From COVID-19 Reported***

The Northeast Health District added 308 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests, according to the Sunday Department of Public Health Daily Status Report, as well as 22 cases based on antigen tests. No new deaths from the disease were listed in the Report.

Based on the combined addition of 330 cases, the seven-day rolling average of added cases increased to 329.1, up from 295.1 average added cases on Saturday.

Rezone Hearings For Proposed Shopping Center At Mars Hill Road And Oconee Connector Postponed

***Applicant Asked For More Time***

At the request of the property owner, Oconee County has postponed the public hearing scheduled for Monday on the proposal for a major shopping center at the corner of the Oconee Connector and Mars Hill Road.

Deferred Tax LLC of Lawrenceville, which owns the 47-acres being proposed for development, asked the county to postpone the Planning Commission meeting originally scheduled for Monday until Jan. 19, and the final vote of the Board of Commissioners until Feb. 2.

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Daily Status Report Adds 288 New Cases Of COVID-19 In Northeast Health District On Saturday

***No New Deaths From Disease Recorded In District***

The Department of Public Health on Saturday reported 245 new cases of COVID-19 in the Northeast Health District based on molecular tests and an additional 43 based on antigen tests. The Report listed no new deaths from the disease in the District.

The combined seven-day rolling average of added cases dropped from 306.4 on Friday to 295.7 on Saturday.

Oconee County added 10 cases based on molecular tests and one based on antigen tests, while Clarke County added 57 cases based on molecular tests and 10 cases based on antigen tests.

Friday, December 11, 2020

Area Adds 377 COVID-19 Cases And Five Deaths From Disease; Oconee County Schools Reports Increase In Cases, Quarantines

***COVID-19 Patients At Area Hospitals Increase***

The Northeast Health District added 377 COVID-19 cases and five deaths from the disease on Friday with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report, increasing the seven-day rolling averages of added cases and deaths.

One of the deaths listed in the Daily Status Report was of a 76-year-old Clarke County male without a chronic condition. The death brings to 57 the number in the county attributed to COVID-19.

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds Record Number Of New COVID-19 Cases, Following State Lead

***One New Death From Disease Reported***

The Northeast Health District on Thursday added 401 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 based on molecular tests, the largest number ever added in a single day, plus 30 cases based on antigen tests, and one death attributed to the disease.

The 401 added cases compare with the previous high of 385 added on Sept. 5 and pushed the seven-day rolling average of added cases based on this test to 253.0, up from 231.4 on Wednesday, and the highest seven-day rolling average ever.

Wednesday, December 09, 2020

State Adds 329 New COVID-19 Cases, Six Deaths, In Wednesday Reports For Northeast Health District; Two Deaths In Clarke County

***UGA Reports Increase In Positive Tests And Positivity Rate***

The Department of Public Health reported on Wednesday that the Northeast Health District added 280 confirmed cases of COVID-19 based on molecular tests, 49 cases based on antigen tests, and three deaths attributed to the disease, including one in Clarke County.

The Department of Community Health also reported three deaths from the disease at area long-term care facilities, including one in Clarke County.

The Clarke County death listed in the Daily Status report was of a 57-year-old male with a chronic condition. His death brings to 56 the number of deaths from the disease in Clarke County based on the official count of the Department of Public Health.

Access To Oconee Connector A Central Issue In Rezone Request For Proposed Mars Hill Road Shopping Center

***Planning Staff Recommends Changes In Concept Plan***

A shopping center needs entrances, and Sembler Corporation, a shopping center developer out of St. Petersburg, Fla., has proposed that its planned $50 million commercial center at the corner of Mars Hill Road and the Oconee Connector have six.

The main entrance that is proposed is off the Oconee Connector, about half way between SR 316 and the Connector’s intersection with Mars Hill Road and Daniells Bridge Road.

Property owner Deferred Tax LLC, which is seeking approval from the county for its plans, has said it will seek permission from the state to install a traffic light that will allow traffic from all directions to enter and leave the shopping center.

Tuesday, December 08, 2020

The Northeast Health District Added 272 New COVID-19 Cases; Number Of COVID-19 Patients In Area Hospitals Continues To Climb

***Clarke County Nursing Home Reports Three Deaths***

The Department of Public Health reported 155 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests in the Northeast Health District on Tuesday and 177 cases based on antigen tests.

The Department of Public Health did not report any new COVID-19 deaths in the 10-county Northeast Health District, but the Department of Community Health reported four new deaths, three of them at a Clarke County nursing home and the fourth at a personal care home in Walton County.

Northeast Health District Reaches Record High Of COVID-19 Cases; Quarter Of Area Hospital Patients Have Disease

***Two Deaths From Disease Recorded***

The Northeast Health District on Monday added 255 COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests and 22 cases based on antigen tests. The District also added two deaths attributed to the disease, and area hospitals reported that a quarter of their patients have COVID-19.

With the addition of the 255 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests, the seven-day rolling average of added cases increased to 227.9 on Monday from 208.6 on Sunday.

That rolling average–227.9–is the highest ever in the 10-county Northeast Health District. The previous high had been 227.3 on Sept. 6.

Monday, December 07, 2020

Oconee County Sales Tax Collections Show Large Increase In October After State Reconciled Sales And Tax Discrepancies

***Department of Revenue “Flagged” Filings For “About 12" Companies***

For the second time in three months, Oconee County government and Oconee County schools got a pleasant surprise with the release last week of monthly sale tax distributions by the Georgia Department of Revenue.

Revenue was up 41 percent in October over the same month a year ago for the county’s Local Option Sales Tax, Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, and Education Local Option Sales Tax.

Sunday, December 06, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds 96 COVID-19 Cases And One Death; COVID-19 Hospital Patient Numbers Increase

***Second “Probable Death” From Disease Reported In Oconee***

The Northeast Health District added 91 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular testing, five cases based on antigen testing, and a death from the disease with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Sunday.

The death was of an 83-year-old male in Elbert County with a chronic condition. Elbert County now has 21 confirmed deaths listed in the Daily Status Report, and the District has 359.

The seven-day rolling average of added deaths increased to 1.1 from 1.0 on Saturday.

Saturday, December 05, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds 363 New COVID-19 Cases; More Than 20 Percent Of Area Hospital Patients Have COVID-19

***No Confirmed Death From Disease Reported On Saturday***

The Northeast Health District added 286 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests and another 77 cases based on rapid antigen testing with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Saturday.

The seven-day rolling average of added molecular cases increased to 210.9 from 190.7 on Friday, and the seven-day rolling average of added antigen cases increased to 56.4 on Saturday from 47.9 on Friday.

Friday, December 04, 2020

Area Hospitals Report 133 COVID-19 Patients; State Reports 356 New COVID-19 Cases In Northeast District And Two Deaths From Disease

***Oconee County Schools Reports Increase In Active Cases***

The Northeast Health District added 303 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Friday, the most cases added in a single day since Sept. 5.

The District also added 53 cases identified by antigen tests, which the Department of Public Health has been reporting only since Nov. 3.

The District also added two deaths from the disease and one death that the Department of Public Health listed as “probable,” meaning it is likely to have been caused by the disease.

Thursday, December 03, 2020

State Reports 308 New COVID-19 Cases In Northeast Health District, Two Deaths From Disease

***Area Hospitals Have 126 COVID-19 Patients***

Seven-day rolling averages of added COVID-19 cases and deaths increased in the Northeast Health District on Thursday as the state Department of Public Health reported 250 new confirmed cases of the disease based on molecular tests, 58 cases based on antigen tests, and two confirmed deaths.

Every county added at least five cases based on molecular tests, with Oconee County adding 15 and Clarke County adding 66. The rolling average of added cases increased in both counties, with the average in Oconee County at its highest point ever.

Wednesday, December 02, 2020

COVID-19 Cases Reported In Northeast Health District Highest Since Sept. 8; Most COVID-19 Patients At Area Hospitals Since Aug. 27

***Clarke, Elbert, Walton Counties Have Deaths From Disease***

The Department of Public Health on Wednesday reported 239 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 based on molecular tests and 79 based on antigen tests in the 10-county Northeast Health District plus three deaths attributed to the disease.

The 239 added confirmed cases based on the molecular test are the most added in the District since Sept. 8 and pushed the seven-day rolling average of added cases to 156.1, its highest level since Sept. 15.

Proposal For Large Shopping Center At Mars Hill Road And Oconee Connector On Planning Commission Agenda

***Developer Granted Corps Of Engineers Permit To Fill Wetlands***

Developers are moving forward with a planned $50 million commercial development at the intersection of the Oconee Connector and Mars Hill Road that would include a Publix, a gas station with convenience store, and a bank in its initial phase.

In a second phase, the project concept plan shows restaurants, hotels, retail outlets, and an auto dealership.

The primary access to the property will be off the Oconee Connector, but the concept plan also shows five entrances off Mars Hill Road, including a major one opposite the current DaAndra Drive intersection with Mars Hill Road.

Oconee County Voters Picked Chafin, But Gonzalez Wins In District Attorney Runoff Election

***Turnout Higher In Oconee Than Clarke***

Oconee County voters overwhelmingly picked James Chafin in Tuesday’s runoff election for District Attorney of the Western Judicial Circuit, but their votes were offset by votes in Clarke County, and Deborah Gonzalez won with 51.7 percent of the final vote.

Turnout was higher in Oconee County, with 30.5 percent of the county’s 30,071 voters casting a ballot compared with 22.0 percent of Clarke County’s 76,779 voters.

Tuesday, December 01, 2020

State Reports 277 New COVID-19 Cases In Northeast Health District, Increase In COVID Patients At Area Hospitals

***Cases, Deaths Increase At Area Long-Term Care Homes***

The Department of Public Health reported on Tuesday that the 10 counties in the Northeast Health District added 171 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 based on molecular tests and an additional 106 cases based on rapid antigen tests.

The seven-day rolling average for cases based on both tests increased.

For the third day in a row, the Daily Status Report listed no new confirmed COVID-19 deaths from the disease. The seven-day rolling average of added confirmed deaths in the Daily Status report dropped from 1.3 on Monday to 1.1 on Tuesday.

Expert On Georgia Politics Told Oconee County Republicans That Election Outcome On Nov. 3 Was Consistent With Past Trends

***DA Candidate Also Spoke***

University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock, in a retrospective on the Nov. 3 election for Oconee County Republicans, said the Democratic victory in the presidential race in Georgia was the result of trends a long time in the making.

“The state has been changing,” Bullock said. “This is not something that has happened over night.” The highwater point for Republicans came in 2004, and since that time Republican strength in the state has been on the decline, he said.