FACTBOX: Georgia and its presidential primary

(Reuters) - Georgia is among 24 states taking part in "Super Tuesday," the February 5 contests in which voters will choose nominees from the Democratic and Republican parties for the November U.S. presidential election.

* With a population of 9.4 million, Georgia has been one of the fastest growing U.S. states since 1990. Atlanta and its suburbs have grown by 67 percent during that time.

* A Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll taken over the weekend showed Democratic Illinois Sen. Barack Obama leading rival New York Sen. Hillary Clinton 48 percent to 31 percent. Among Republicans, recent polls show Arizona Sen. John McCain leading with 31 percent over 29 percent for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and 25 percent for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

* Polls close at 7 p.m. EST. Democrats award their delegates on a proportional basis, while Republicans award all their delegates to the winner. Both primary contests are open to independent voters.

* Georgia voters favored Democrats from the end of the Civil War through the 1990s but the governor's mansion, state legislature and two U.S. Senate seats are now in Republican hands. The state has voted Republican in the past two presidential elections.

* Famous political figures from Georgia include former Democratic President and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jimmy Carter and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who led the Republican takeover of Congress in the 1990s.

* Atlanta, home to Coca-Cola and CNN, has emerged in recent years as a hotbed of hip-hop music. Georgia is now home to more blacks than any state except New York and Texas.

* Median household income in the state is $48,388, slightly higher than the national median of $44,334. About 13.3 percent of the population live below the poverty line, compared with 12.3 percent nationally. The median age is 35.7, slightly younger than the national average.

Sources: Almanac of American Politics, U.S. Census Bureau, National Association of Secretaries of State

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Vicki Allen)

(For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http:/blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)