(AFP) – Where Evangelical Christians are in charge, Donald Trump wins hands down: Rabun County, Georgia, located at the southern tip of the Appalachian Mountains, is one of those key Republican-leaning areas in a swing state. Here are five things to know about the county.
– **Republican for 40 years**
It’s quite the pattern: for more than 40 years, Rabun has voted for the Republican candidate in the presidential election. Donald Trump reached record highs there, with more than 78 percent of the vote in 2016 and 2020. The last time this rural county voted Democrat was in 1980, for Jimmy Carter. That year all of Georgia was tinged blue, the color of the American left, in support of Carter, who came from the state. The election is expected to be much closer this year in Georgia, which could be decisive for the national outcome and could swing either way.
– **Home to evangelism**
Churches are everywhere. On the side of the road, in villages or in the middle of the forest. Nearly half of Rabun’s inhabitants are Evangelical, according to the American Academy of Religion, which records the number of members in each parish. Most places of worship are Baptist churches, and more than 6,000 people are affiliated with a major Evangelical Christian group, the Southern Baptist Convention, which has more than 13 million US members. The county is one of the most religious in the “Bible belt,” which stretches from the southeast coast to Texas. The majority of residents are opposed to abortion.
– **White, elderly**
The county’s age pyramid is inverted, with a peak between 60 and 74, according to government data. The median age is 49.4, well above the 37.6 for the state of Georgia. Old people and whites make up much of the population. Twenty years ago, they represented almost all the inhabitants, but the number of Hispanics and Latinos has doubled and today there are 1,400 living in the county out of some 17,000 residents.
– **’A bubble’**
Proud of their “Southern roots,” residents share a feeling of belonging to a community — “a bubble.” And for good reason, Rabun is one of the most isolated places in the state, two hours from a big city — Asheville, North Carolina to the north, and Atlanta to the south. The largest city, Clayton, has just 2,000 residents and the county ranks 102nd on the list of the most populated in Georgia (out of 159).
– **Nature, work**
With lakes, rivers, majestic waterfalls and protected areas: nature is everywhere and delights visitors who come to enjoy the cool summer air and the magnificent colors of autumn. Their number is increasing regularly. In Rabun, more than 60 percent of workers are employed by private companies, a large proportion of which are in local trade, catering and hotels, according to government data. Second homes are also booming, with many real estate agencies and construction companies managing lakeside or mountainside homes.
© 2024 AFP
