Obama is in Georgia today, wooing voters in this very "red" state. (Meaning GA has voted Republican in recent Presidential elections.)
"If Obama wins Georgia, he'll occupy the White House," conservative AJC columnist Jim Wooten wrote.
I think this is quite true. I moved from Rochester, NY to Georgia about 13 years ago, and I still am often surprised by the social conservatism of the area. Especially once you get out of Atlanta, proper. However, Georgians are also a state of pragmatic voters who are quite fed up with the war in Iraq, and some of the other Bush-induced nonsese that has been going on. (Yes I am editorializing. This is my blog, not the New York Times. What did you expect?)
I have also heard a rumor that GA Governor Sonny Perdue might be considered to run as McCain's VP. Perdue is pretty popular here, and that would probably sew up Georgia for McCain. Of course Perdue's Georgia State flag mess might come back to haunt him and make him not a very attractive VP.
Obama's electability in Georgia might also be effected by the growing numbers of African American and Latino voters who are newly registering to vote. According to Georgia.org Georgia is about "29.8 percent Black or African-American." Now of course you cannot assume that just because a voter is black that they will vote for a black candidate! I happen to know quite a few very socially conservative and Republican leaning African American voters. But that demographic is a fertile groups for Obama to stump to.
And since Secretary of State Karen Handel reported that in the last three months of 2007, African-Americans registered to vote at a rate three times that of whites in Georgia. (according to this AJC.com article) this group may be becoming more motivated to vote this year.
