Georgia’s New GOP Takes Root

PERRY, Ga. —  The crowds usually come to the fairground exhibition hall for trade shows or to get a peek at the fancy horses. But on display here Sunday was the new face of Georgia politics.

Nearly a month after a staggering electoral upset by Georgia Republicans, hundreds of them flocked to the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter to greet Sonny Perdue, who is about to become the first GOP governor here in 130 years. The occasion was a pre-inauguration event called “Celebrating a New Georgia,” Perdue’s only big official appearance before taking office Jan. 13.

His supporters still seemed incredulous that they had rewritten political history: Before Perdue’s victory, Georgia had remained the one spot in the South where Democrats were unvanquished. Among those expressing surprise was Perdue, who owns a grain and fertilizer business in neighboring Bonaire.

“It’s amazing what happened ... as we asked the people of Georgia to make democracy work,” Perdue told a crowd that organizers said numbered about 2,000. A sign on the dais proclaimed this “Perdue Country.”

Those attending the rally included farmers, schoolteachers, businessmen and retirees -- most of them from this agricultural belt in the state’s midsection, about 100 miles south of Atlanta. Many have known Perdue for years, either through his business or politics. Until last year, Perdue represented the area in the state Senate, first as a Democrat. He switched parties in 1998.

Sunday’s celebration was rich with pride for a hometown boy made good. (Perdue is hardly the first. Former Sen. Sam Nunn, a Democrat, is from Perry -- a onetime Democratic stronghold that is growing increasingly Republican.)

“Sonny Perdue is a man of tremendous character,” said Brian Powers, a 66-year-old instructor pilot who has flown with Perdue, also a pilot.

The fairground gathering underscored Perdue’s roots in rural Georgia, which hadn’t produced a governor in nearly three decades.

“Not only did we elect a Republican for the first time in 130 years, we elected a rural Georgian for the first time since Jimmy Carter,” said Alec Poitevint, who chaired Perdue’s campaign and is a member of the transition team.

Perdue’s victory owed much to white rural voters, who supported him heavily over the Democratic incumbent, Roy Barnes. Barnes captured counties around the state’s largest cities -- such as Atlanta, Columbus, Augusta, Savannah and Macon. But Perdue won just about everywhere else, finishing with a six percentage-point edge statewide and adding Georgia to the ranks of Southern states with GOP governors.

Besides offering Perdue a chance to thank supporters, Sunday’s event in Perry also carried a political message. “The symbolism is, he’s not from Atlanta and he’s not going to be responsive exclusively to Atlanta’s concerns,” said Charles Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia. “A problem Roy Barnes faced was that he was seen as concentrating too much power in Atlanta.”

Georgia often has been described as really two states: metropolitan Atlanta and everywhere else. Rural Georgia once held sway in state politics, going back to the days of Gov. Eugene Talmadge -- who in the 1930s was a champion for Georgia’s small-town farming ways before his rhetoric became better known for its racism.

After the 1950s, the growth of metropolitan Atlanta, now with about half the state’s residents, and the demise of a county-based voting system tipped the political balance. The rural southern portion of the state now accounts for only about a fifth of Georgia voters.

“We’re hoping the rest of the state’s going to get a fair shake” under Perdue, said Leonard “Bo” Hogan, the GOP chairman in rural Burke County on the eastern side of the state.

Rural resentment boiled to the surface over Barnes’ decision last year to reduce the Confederate emblem on the state flag without public debate, a move that enraged supporters of the old banner and mobilized many on election day. During the campaign, Perdue said he favored letting voters decide how the flag should look, but he has said little about it since being elected.

At Sunday’s gathering, members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans handed out lapel stickers bearing the likeness of the former state flag, which is dominated by the Confederate symbol. Many attendees stuck them on their jackets. “We want everyone to remember we were there for him,” said A. Jack Bridwell, commander of the group’s Georgia division.

Cementing rural backing for the GOP would represent another stage in the state’s political transformation. That conversion may take place gradually, but for now, Republican support is likely to remain rooted in the suburbs, said Michael Binford, who teaches political science at Georgia State University. “If you’re a Republican, the bulk of your base is going to come from suburban areas,” he said.

It is over suburban swing voters that Democrats are girding for the next battle. Republicans “can have all the rallies they want in the countryside,” said Jim Coonan, who advises Democratic candidates for local and state legislative offices. “In the long run, they’re going to have to get better schools and better health care, drinkable water and cleaner air, or they won’t get these swing voters.”