McKinney - Georgia's 4th District: Politics

The 4th District has strong Democratic tendencies. President Clinton carried the district by 55% of the vote in 1992 and by 67% of the vote in 1996.

Democratic candidates get a very warm reception in the central and western parts of DeKalb County. Decatur, the county seat of DeKalb County, lost out to the City of Atlanta as a viable railway hub in the 19th Century.

In the last 30 years, DeKalb County and Southwestern Gwinnett have undergone a political metamorphosis. In 1968, it is estimated that Democratic presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey received barely 1/4 of the vote in the District. It is estimated that Michael Dukakis barely carried the area over Bill Clinton in 1988. In 1996, President Clinton carried the district by 67% of the vote ó 20 points higher than his statewide average. In 1996, Congresswoman McKinney won the Democratic primary by garnering 67% of the vote in a four-candidate field. She won the General Election by capturing 59% of the vote.