Though Paulding County is well-known for voting Republican, the Paulding County Democratic Party has returned and is on a mission to “turn Paulding blue.”

“The party was re-established in March,” said the party’s Chairman Mike Scott of Dallas.

The party now has close to 50 active dues-paying members, and has about 25 to 30 members and visitors attend meetings regularly, he said.

Scott said Board of Elections Supervisor Deidre Holden spoke at the party’s last meeting.

“I think it really opened the door in terms of cooperation,” Scott said. “That was them showing they’re not biased and encouraging a balance of both parties in Paulding County. That shows we’re going in a positive direction.”

Paulding County has voted overwhelmingly for Republican candidates in recent presidential elections, including almost 70 percent for John McCain in 2008 and 76 percent for George W. Bush in 2004.

However, Scott said he believes most Paulding County residents value Democratic values, such as fighting for the middle class.

“I’m an optimistic person,” Scott said. “I think Paulding County is Democratic at its core.”

Scott said there were more than 1,200 registered Democrats who voted in the general primary election in July.

“If we got those people to rally and get their family and friends involved, we could make a huge impact on Paulding County,” he said. “At a state and national level, partisan politics are kind of the rule of the day, but at a county level, we all care about the same things — lower taxes, good schools and maintaining our roads.”

Scott said he believed voter education is imperative in the party’s fight to “turn Paulding blue.”

“I want to see Paulding County residents start voting for their own interests,” Scott said. “The Democratic platform is in line with those interests.”

The party recently hosted a barbecue fundraiser and had 100 attendees. Danny Grant, Democratic nominee for Georgia’s new 14th Congressional District seat, spoke.

“We’ve really been focusing on solidifying our base and driving membership,” said Scott.

Scott said the party has been working on Kimberly Alexander’s campaign. Alexander is the Democratic candidate for the newly drawn District 66 of the State House of Representatives.

Alexander will run against Republican nominee Bob Snelling in the November election.

“We have a strong candidate in Kimberly Alexander,” Scott said. “This is a big opportunity for us.”

In terms of moving forward, Scott said he believes the Paulding County Democratic Party can have a great impact on new residents of the fast-growing county.

“The Republicans need to be careful,” Scott said. “Because, we’re going to reach out.

“There’s a lot of new residents, and they don’t look like traditional Paulding residents.”