I can probably tell you the race and region of every candidate without even knowing who they are.
Region, certainly, but probably not race
All of the candidates were actually white.
I imagine that the yellow candidate is white and probably from the northern suburbs of Athens, but I wonder what explains his support in the far northwest and southeast. Comparative weakness/geographical distance of the others coupled with a more even distribution of the yellow candidate's vote, perhaps.
Indeed; Mac Barber was from Jackson County (the southeast darker yellow county). Though Athens actually doesn't have much in the way of suburbs, interestingly, with the possible exception of northern Oconee County (although that area is more of an exurban Atlanta bedroom community).
You're entirely correct regarding why he won the random counties on the edge of the state; he was the only candidate with any degree of statewide name recognition. He had been a fixture in state politics since he first took office in 1948; he was a unique character, and that helped him get a lot of news coverage through the years as well.
He made headlines a few times for forgiving hospital big bills when he was a regional hospital authority president, he often left his office through the window, he once wrecked a government car by driving it off a convenience store loading ramp, and at one point won a six-figure settlement in a defamation case and donated it all to the University of Georgia. When he was on Georgia's Public Service Commission, he was once investigated for taking bribes; to demonstrate his innocence by proving his disregard for money, he showed up at the state Attorney General's office with 24 years' worth of PSC checks he had never cashed.
Apologies for the off topic tangent, by the way
Barber's always been a favorite of mine. But yeah, outside of his old State House district he polled roughly the same in every rural county statewide, but that percentage was only enough to let him win in areas were no other candidate had influence.
