This is a post from a friend of a friend on FB, that gives me a bit of hope:
"This is from a friend in Georgia - it helps put the defeat in perspective
For all my friends outside of Georgia who are wondering today how a Republican won in District 6, it's important to understand what a challenge this was. Less than a year ago many Democrats and liberals in the north Atlanta suburbs were "closeted" (and some still are). It was assumed in many social circles and workplaces in this area that if you were white, educated, owned a home, had a good job, etc, that you voted Republican. It was scary to rock the boat and admit that you were not a part of that. Some worried that it could hurt their career, their relationships with neighbors, or their social standing to be "outed" as a liberal.
Conservatism runs very deep here, and it's tied up in race, socio-economics, religion, and so much more. Even though I have always been open about my political beliefs on FB, there have been many times in the last 10 years of living in Cobb County that I tried to keep my politics under the radar in real-life situations.
This race (and somewhat the 2016 pres race) changed that in a big way. There is now a vocal and visible liberal presence in the north Atlanta suburbs, and it's growing. There are now people willing to canvas and volunteer for Democratic campaigns, and there are even more people willing to run as Democrats in state and local races, many of which previously went to Republicans unchallenged. Even though we didn't #flipthe6th, we have made tremendous progress."