State profile: Georgia

Georgia was for many years a key swing state with unpredictable changes in opinion, but in the last two or three electoral cycles Republicans have made the state their own.

In 2002, they won both the governor's mansion and one of the Democrats' two senate seats, and in 2004 they picked up the other Senate seat. George W Bush took the state with ease in 2000, and went on to increase his lead in 2004.

KEY FACTS

Population: 8,186,453 (ranked 10 among states)

Governor: Sonny Perdue (R)

Electoral college votes: 15

The state has a strong Democratic tradition, however. In 1960 John F Kennedy won a higher percentage in Georgia than in his native Massachusetts, and in 1976 and 1980 there was strong support for native son and former governor Jimmy Carter.

IN CONGRESS

House of Representatives:
6 Democrat, 7 Republican

Senate: 2 Republican

Georgia, which grows around 40% of the US's peanuts, is a curious mix of the rural old South and the more modern new South.

Its capital city, Atlanta, is the epitome of the latter.

VOTING RECORD

2004: Bush: 58%, Kerry 41%

2000: Bush 55%, Gore 43%

1996: Clinton 46%, Dole 47%

The birthplace of Martin Luther King, it has a progressive record on urban development and race relations, and is the fastest growing city in the country.

Already the home of CNN and Coca Cola, Atlanta's hosting of the 1996 Olympics sealed its new cosmopolitan status.

Are you in Georgia? Will you be voting in 2008? How do you plan to vote? Send us your comments and predictions using the form below.