THE RURAL PROGRESSIVE: (#30)Grady County has large independent, progressive base

Cairo is nicknamed the "Syrup City" and earned its nickname by producing cane syrup from the early 1900s through the late 1990s.

The Cairo High School football team is nicknamed the Syrupmakers, and the school mascot is the agriculturally based sugar cane farmer/syrupmaker similar to the Cornhusker and Boilermaker.

Plus, Cairo is home to baseball great Jackie Robinson (January 31, 1919 - October 24, 1972) who was the first black player to play in the major leagues and broke the color barrier in baseball.

Grady County sits along the Georgia-Florida state line and even though this South Georgia rural county has voted for George W. Bush and John McCain with approximately 60% of the vote, 2nd Congressional District representative Sanford Bishop, a conservative black Democrat has won 60% of the vote in 2008.

Bishop has been a pro-active representative who routinely visits all areas of his district and listening to their concerns. This may be something state and national Democrats may need to learn from if they want to win in Grady County. Bishop has been strong on agricultural and military issues which has contributed to his success in Grady County and the Second Congressional District.

On a side note, Bishop is the only African-American congressman who has won in a majority white congressional district.

John Monds, who is an Libertarian candidate for Georgia governor, is an African-American who became the first statewide independent candidate to receive more than a million votes when he camapigned for the Public Service Commission in 2008.

The largest city in Grady County is Cairo. Cairo is a majority-minority city in which African-Americans make up approximately 52% of the population.

However, Cairo is on a metaphorical island politically which is surrounded by mostly smaller, more conservative, but occasionally independent cities.

Grady County consists of 12 voting locations, and the five largest are the following: Cairo(4), Cairo (5),Woodland, Midway and Whigham.

The two largest voting locations or precincts are Cairo (4) and Cairo (5). Cairo (4) precinct is the most progressive and voted for President Barack Obama with 86% of the popular vote in 2008. Cairo (4) precinct has approximately 2,200 registered voters.