Georgia's economy, geography, and political representation

¶ … Congressional Senators

GEORGIA AND ITS SENATORS

Named after King George 2 of Great Britain, the State of Georgia is situated in the South Eastern side of the United States. The state was the last state to be set up in 1732 among initial thirteen colonies. It was the fourth to sign the United States constitution on January 2, 1788. Georgia is neighbored by Florida on the South, Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina on the East, Alabama on the west and Tennessee and North Carolina on the north, with part of the state, the north, being in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Since 1868, the capital city of Georgia since 1868 has been Atlanta, situated in North- Central part of Georgia. By 2010, Atlanta had been ranked as the city with the highest population in Georgia with a total number of 420,000 people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011).

The State of Georgia

The metropolitan region of Atlanta is both the cultural and economic hub of the south east. In 2010, it accommodated 5,268,860 people, which was 53.6% of Georgia's population. Though Atlanta is ranked as the country's 9th biggest metropolitan region, Georgia has other fourteen cities whose population, based on an estimated census report in 2012, was above 50,000 residents. They are Smyrna, Valdosta, Marietta, Alpharetta, Robins, Warner, John's Creek, Albany, Roswell, Springs, Sandy, Athens, Savannah, Macon, Augusta and Columbus in ascending order. Together with the other regions of the South East, the number of people in Georgia is increasing at a high rate with major growth occurring in the urban regions. Between the year 2000 and 2010, the Atlanta metropolitan region has not only risen to the position of the 9th largest metropolitan region, but also increased the number of people by 1.23 million, which is equivalent to 24%.

In 2010, Georgia's gross state product was $403 billion and in 2011, it was ranked 39th in the country since its per capita individual income stood at $35,979 (Bureau of Business & Economic Research, UNM, n.d.) Had Georgia been an independent nation, its economy would have been ranked 28th largest in the world. Georgia is home to headquarters of huge companies such as Home Depot, Coca-Cola, UPS, Aflac, Delta Air Lines, Sun Trust Banks and Southern company. Harts field - Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the busiest airport in the world in terms of human and aircraft traffic, is also situated in Georgia.

Georgia's estimated investment capital of $23 billion is from the over 1700 headquartered international ventures that are a representative of 43 countries providing jobs to over 112,000 Georgians.

Atlanta, however, has made a large impact on Georgia and the south Eastern side of the United States. This is due to rapid growth in the communication, service and real estate sectors, attraction sites like World of Coke, Georgia Aquarium (ranked the largest in the world, 2010 Guinness World Records), Zoo Atlanta and Stone mountains; all contributing to Georgia's growth (Associated Press, 2010).

Does Your State Lean on Republican or Democrat? Why?

For almost 20 years, no Democrat candidate running for presidency of state has won. This almost confirms that the people of Georgia are as politically red as the state's clay. With the governor, both U.S. senators and elected officials being republicans, it is no surprise that legislature republicans hold more seats in the senate. Polls dating to 2006 and 2002 reflected that more voters were Republicans and this has not changed by last year. Each of the 15 offices in the state is occupied by a republican. Based on the voting patterns, no conclusion can be made to support the existence of more Democrats compared to Republicans in Georgia (Davis & Stirgus, 2012).

Senators, Party affiliation, Background, Length of Service, Voting Record, and Key Issues

David Perdue

Born in December 10, 2015, David Alfred Perdue, Jr. is an American politician. He is also the junior U.S. Senator from Georgia, elected to succeed Senator Saxby Chambliss after he retired. Perdue garnered the most votes in Georgia's Republican primary election on May 20, 2014, and won a runoff against Representative Jack Kingston on July 22, 2014. Democratic nominee Michelle Nunn lost to Perdue on November 4, 2014. On January 3, 2015, Perdue took office.

Perdue said that he joined politics because he was concerned about the rising level of national debt. He supports reviewing and replacing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and a comprehensive tax reform and a constitutional balanced budget amendment. He has vowed, if elected, to only serve in the Senate for two terms, equivalent to 12 years (Gaines, 2014).

Johnny Isakson

John Hardy "Johnny" Isakson was born in December 28, 1944. He is Georgia's senior U.S. Senator. Isakson has been in office since 2005, and is an associate of the Republican Party. He was a representative of Georgia's 6th Congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005.

Would you support your senators' re-election to office? Why or why not?

Yes. Both are skilled and experienced politicians with expertise and political know- how to be able to represent the people of Georgia and impact their lives in a positive way. They seem to have the good of the state at heart.

Conclusion

The biggest state among the U.S. states east of the Mississippi River, Georgia, was established in 1732, at a time when its boundaries were even broader -- including most of what are now Mississippi and Alabama states. It is the youngest state amongst the 13 states formerly colonized by the English.

Capital: Atlanta

Population: 9,687,653 (2010)

Size: 59,425 square miles

Nickname(s): Empire State of the South; Peach State

Motto: Wisdom, Justice and Moderation

Tree: Live Oak

Flower: Cherokee rose

Bird: Brown Thrasher

GEORGIA AND ITS SENATORS 2

Georgia is the largest producer of peaches, peanuts, pecans and Vidalia onions, commonly referred to as the world's sweetest onions, (which cannot be grown elsewhere other than the fields near Glennville and Vidalia) in the country. Lastly, Coca-Cola is another pleasantry from Peach State discovered in Atlanta in the year 1886.