ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - The already crowded gubernatorial race just added another person to the playing field. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced his candidacy on Wednesday, Sept. 17, marking him as the tenth person to enter the governor’s race.

But what do Georgians want to see from the next governor?

Senator Freddie Powell-Sims, who represents rural Southwest Georgia in the Georgia General Assembly, said some of the top concerns local voters have are agriculture, education and healthcare.

According to Sen. Powell-Sims, rural Georgia needs a governor who prioritizes economic infusion and job replacement that will pay livable wages, as well as someone who will hold schools accountable.

“We need to hear about education,” Powell-Sims said. “We need to ask candidates what they are going to do to assure parents that when they drop their children off in the morning, they’ll be able to pick them up in the afternoon in the same condition.”

She added that the state needs to hold both schools and communities accountable for the safety of Georgia’s children.

Research shows that voters are traditionally more likely to vote inside their own party than not.

According to the Pew Research Center, voters in urban counties and those in rural counties are mirror images of each other.

In 2000, more rural voters identified as republicans over democrats, but now that gap has increased. The Republican Party has a roughly 25-point edge over the Democratic Party.

In urban counties, about 60% of people identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, whereas 37% lean toward the Republican Party.

According to Senator Powell-Sims, one’s registered party does not determine who one has to vote for.

“There’s a huge difference when it comes to national voting and state voting — even locally. We see people moving about and switching and changing their party affiliation based on the individual, not necessarily the party,” said Senator Powell-Sims. “Pay close attention, not necessarily to what [candidates are] saying, but what they have done. See what they’ve done for rural Georgia.”

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