Georgia's Republican Party, which once relied on votes in Atlanta's close-in suburbs, increasingly relies on the mountains of north Georgia for its votes. A 41-county region of north Georgia now has as many GOP voters as the core of metro Atlanta, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. Reliance on those voters shapes the party. In a state where whites are becoming the minority, north Georgia is overwhelmingly white. While Democrats attack and Republicans fret over abortion restrictions and loose gun laws in the suburbs, there's little public wavering in the mountains. Democrats have been trying to rebuild. They note that even if they're not going to win locally, each additional vote counts statewide. Governor Brian Kemp's emphasis on this relatively isolated region represents a notable shift in Republican political strategy in Georgia. The party long coasted to victory by combining its dominance in rural areas with a strong performance in the Atlanta suburbs. But that coalition has frayed in recent years as voters in the booming Atlanta region rejected the GOP under former President Donald Trump, turning this once Republican stronghold into the South's premier swing state. Those changing dynamics have intensified pressure on Kemp to maintain — or strengthen — his support in rural mountainous communities like Toccoa to offset losses closer to the capital city.