Georgia on the Candidates' Minds

— -- Georgia, the classic Southern state where a soft drawl and warm nights fill the landscape with serenity, is proving to be less than calming for the presidential candidates.

By maintaining a large staff and pursuing new voters there, Sen. Barack Obama has taken aim at the traditionally red state.

The state has not voted for a Democratic candidate in 16 years -- a fact which the McCain camp is counting on.

Sen. John McCain's campaign has no field office in Georgia, compared with the more than 30 field offices maintained by the Obama campaign.

Despite successful fundraising efforts in Georgia, especially in the Atlanta area, a recent shift of staffers from Georgia offices to North Carolina offices by the Obama campaign could signal a shift in strategy -- but the Obama camp maintains that it is not surrendering the state to McCain.

McCain lost Georgia's Feb. 5 Republican primary to Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, but according to the latest ABC News assessment, the state is still "leaning Republican."