name an area and describe the most prevalent ideology

[old timey villain]

Metro Atlanta:

Also a mixed bad. The 28 county metro area was barely won by Obama last year, the closest major metro in the nation. You have a ton of different types of people and ideologies.

Team Republican

1) Probably the largest group of GOP supporters are the white people who live in the outer suburbs, usually more than 30 minutes from Atlanta. Many used to live closer to the city but moved out due to an increased cost of living or white flight. They tend to be middle income, highly religious, culturally southern and socially conservative. They're not the typical southern yokels standing on their front porch with a shotgun. They are college educated, have a little bit of money to spend and are convinced that the Dems want to tax them into the lower classes. Church is a big part of their lives, and they often belong to the newer evangelical mega churches. They like their safe suburban bubble and are afraid of more liberal, secular elements closer to Atlanta. Most likely group to love Allen West.

2) Buckhead Republicans. These people live in wealthier enclaves in Buckhead or areas close to the city like Sandy Springs. They are fiscal conservatives more than anything else. They're not as religious and could care less about issues like abortion and gay marriage. They're worldly and sophisticated, but have a lot of money and vote GOP primarily for that reason alone.

3) Classic southerners. They fit the stereotype of the blue collar redneck very well. They live on the fringes of the metro area, at least 45 minutes from the city. Most aren't college educated and are employed in blue collar work. Most are Baptist and their church community factors heavily into their lives. Most are gun owners and pick up trick drivers. They get whipped up by the cultural issues like abortion and gay marriage, but primarily abortion. Racist appeals work best on them, sadly.

Team Democrat

1) Working class African Americans make up the biggest supporters of the Democratic party. These people live on the southside of Atlanta and areas in the vicinity, like Clayton County and South Dekalb. They are very loyal Democrats but also tend to be very religious and socially conservative. The church is their anchor and they're likely to be as opposed to abortion and gay marriage as the white conservatives. Very economically disadvantaged so they tend to be most swayed by appeals to populism and economic equality. Congressman David Scott fits this demographic well.

2) Upper income African Americans. Also loyal Democrats but most are college educated, have higher incomes and are more progressive on social issues. They are a fast growing group of people in the region and are pretty spread out across the metro area. And no, they're not like the Real Housewives. They love Obama, not in spite of his position on gay marriage, but often because of it.

3) Intown progressives. They are the most representative of the new liberal coalition. They live in gentrifying Atlanta neighborhoods and other areas inside 285. They are highly educated and work in the creative class. Probably the least religious of all groups, they care a lot about environmentalism and strongly support greater transit and green space in the city. They absolutely can't stand the Republican dominance in the state and often vocally support very progressive candidates in protest. As they form a greater critical mass in intown Atlanta, their political influence will grow but today they are very much in the minority.

4) New Immigrants. Hispanics, Asians, Africans, Caribbeans etc. Previously they were not very politically active but that is changing as their presence grows. The Immigration Law really galvanized Hispanics against the state GOP so we should be feeling the effects of that in the next few cycles. Like most immigrant groups across America, they are quickly trending towards the Democrats, but they are still a very new group of residents and their political participation lags. Most likely to be found in Gwinnett, Dekalb and Cobb counties.

Independents

Honestly, there's not many. People most likely to be purely moderate and independent tend to be recent transplants from the NE or Midwest, less religious suburbanites, Jews (who aren't nearly as Democratic around here) and young people in the inner suburbs.

[old timey villain]

Jews (who aren't nearly as Democratic around here)

I would assume the opposite. In the south, someone like Olympia Snowe would be considered a democrat. And because jews would have to put up with evangelical christians, I would think they would vote closer to 90% dem.

Yeah, but that's not really the case. Atlanta Jews are different from Jews in the Northeast. The political and social union that has always existed between Jews and the Democratic party up north doesn't really exist in the south. I can't really give you a great reason for this, perhaps it's because most Jewish people around here are wealthier transplants who aren't as religious.

There also seems to be a great deal of pressure for Jewish people in Atlanta to "fit in", so I think, historically, a lot of Jews in Atlanta have adopted more conservative values in order to assimilate. The "othering" of Jewish people down south isn't nearly as prevalent today, as the entire region is much more diverse, but you have to remember than less than 100 years ago, a Jewish business owner from Atlanta, Leo Frank, was wrongfully convicted and hanged for a crime he did not commit. He was an easy scapegoat because he was a Jew, and I don't think southern Jews ever forgot about that. In 1958 the Atlanta temple was bombed as well. Atlanta has had prominent Jewish leaders for years, and we had a Jewish mayor in the 70s, but they were all very southern and assimilated well into the largely protestant community. So basically they all tried very hard to avoid the stereotype of the loud, yankee, communist Jewish guy.

So today, you have a lot of Jews in Atlanta who are very liberal and many who are very conservative, as well as some moderates. But their political affiliations don't seem to be tied into their religion like they may be in other places in America.

[old timey villain]

I just found out that Georgia was the first state to have a Jewish governor, back in 1801...how about that?!