PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — One of the biggest stories of the election is how strongly rural voters broke for President-Elect Donald Trump.
Those voters were running up his margins so largely in Georgia that Vice President Kamala Harris could not make up the difference in the urban voting core.
11Alive spoke to some of those voters today in Paulding County, where Trump won a decisive victory.
"I want to see more unity between Americans," said Dallas resident Christian Wilson.
There is a call for the country to come together in Dallas, Georgia.
"I would really love to see more of a united country," said small business owner Brent Wheeling.
On Wednesday, Dallas is decorated for the holidays -- holly and bells line the streets of downtown. It looks festive - and that's how some people said they hope the country feels.
"It shows that everybody is ready to get back together and start working together. And get some unification back in the country," Hiram Mayor Frank Moran added.
Moran said he's not surprised rural voters favor Trump.
"People were tired of the divisive politics around the country. They just want to get back to living their normal life with a little bit less confusion, and they're hoping the economy will get better," he said.
The economy loomed large with small business owners in Dallas.
"Inflation in every industry, it's made construction hard. Interest rates, that's made housing really slow. I don't have a crystal ball, but over the past four years as a business owner, it's progressively gotten worse," said Wheeling.
Wheeling owns an insurance and real estate company in Dallas and says while he wants business to be good, he wants the country to be good, too.
"It's just such a party system right now. Either you bleed red, or you bleed blue, and there's not much middle ground," he said.
Election trends show Trump has led Paulding County by more than a 20-point margin in the past two elections - a much larger gap than in 2012 or 2016.
Georgia election results: Interactive county-by-county map
Check out the interactive county-by-county map for Georgia election results below.
That same division lead some people not to vote at all.
"Both parties, in a general sense, didn't have changes for me on an individual level," Wilson added.
For people who didn't vote here, they didn't think their voice would make a difference.
"I was undecided, and I just couldn't commit to making either decision. I'm interested to see what's going to happen, but I don't know. I just really don't," said Sarah Chastain.
People downtown say they're looking forward to seeing a specific policy agenda and how those policies will impact small towns across the United States.
