Cobb County brings heft to Northwest Ga. 14th District
Starting in January, a tiny slice of Cobb will be the fourth most populous “county” in the Northwest Georgia 14th Congressional District.
The 77,914 people in Southwest Cobb — including the cities of Austell and Powder Springs — were drawn into the district during a special General Assembly session this fall, based on the 2020 census. Gov. Kemp has not yet signed the map into law but has not voiced any objections.
Floyd County, with 98,584 residents, is the third-largest in the 14th district, according to analysis by the Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office.
Whitfield County, with 102,864 people, is second and Paulding County is the largest, with 168,661 people. Those four counties account for more than 58% of the population in the 11-county district.
The other counties where voters will help choose the region’s U.S. House representative next year are: Catoosa, 67,872; Chattooga, 24,965; Dade, 16,251; Gordon, 57,544; Murray, 39,973; Polk, 42,853; and Walker, 67,654.
Ten of the counties are entirely within the district. Just 10.17% of Cobb County — an area that went heavily for Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election — is in the 14th.
More than three-quarters of the district’s total population
is of voting age, according to the analysis. Whites make up 68.07% — the highest ratio in the state — and 13.58% of the district is Black. Hispanics account for 12.69% of the population.
While that’s not a major change to Floyd County voters, a number of residents will find themselves with different state legislators on their ballots.
The county will still be divided into three House districts, but part of one will be based in Gordon County instead of Bartow.
House District 5, currently represented by Matt Barton, R-Calhoun, will absorb the Shannon area, down to Wayside Road.
House District 12, currently represented by Eddie Lumsden, R-Armuchee, will cover the western and southern part of Floyd, including Cave Spring and Lindale, and all of Chattooga County.
House District 13, currently represented by Katie Dempsey, R-Rome, takes in the city of Rome and Silver Creek and runs east to the Bartow County line.
Also, the state Senate district currently dominated by Floyd County voters will shift farther into Bartow County for the 2022 elections.
Currently, Senate District 52 covers all of Floyd County and parts of Bartow, Gordon and Chattooga counties. It’s represented by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome.
Beginning next year, it will cover most of Floyd and Bartow and a small piece of western Gordon County.
The Armuchee area of Floyd and points north will be part of Senate District 53, with Chattooga, Walker, Catoosa and Dade counties. That district is currently represented by Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga.