Colleen Giffin of Macon sat in a coffee shop a little while after having cast her vote in south Bibb County.

When asked what motivated Giffin to vote, she pointed to her parental duty to make sure her kids understand the importance of participation. Two of her three children went with her to the voting booth.

"My five-year-old handed in the card and my three-year-old got her sticker. It's what she cared about was her sticker," said Giffin, a financial planner, who punctuated the comment with a laugh.

GIffin said when it came to her voting decisions, she voted for change when the government program wasn't working. She pointed directly at education.

"The status quo in our school system is broken, so we can't keep going with that, especially here in Bibb County," said Giffin.

Matt Miller, a musician and Mercer student, said there was no single message or issue that moved him. He, too, echoed the idea of getting away from business-as-usual

"I want to hear a change in Georgia politics," said Miller.

The voters who want to see change commanded the attention of the campaigns for Georgia's two close statewide races.

Mercer University Political Science Professor Chris Grant said these are white voters below the I-20 corridor who once supported Democrats but in the last 10 or so years have voted Republican. He calls these "residual Democrats" and says Middle Georgia has plenty of them.

"Middle Georgia more than many other places because we have relatively high union rates, we have a number of people working for government agencies both state and federal," he said.

Grant also said there are more people in Middle Georgia who are still struggling to recover from the economic downturn. That could explain why gubernatorial candidates emphasized the economy during stump speeches in Macon last week.

"The interstate system that comes through that can be a part of our import export super highway and I think processing and distribution of agricultural commodities are crucially important. We also have to include our military bases including the one in Warner Robins," Carter said to WGXA-TV during a campaign stop in Macon last week.

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal talked to Maconites about gains made in the state's employment.

Those working in agriculture are another group in Middle Georgia that could swing away from the GOP, said Grant.

U.S. Senate candidate, Republican David Perdue, has made a big appeal to farmers in speeches and through television ads that feature his cousin, former governor Sonny Perdue, talking about his farming bonafides.

Grant said while Republicans can aim at keeping voters in Middle Georgia from defecting, Democrats have to also work hard on getting out their base. Perdue's opponent, Democrat Michelle Nunn has made a habit of visiting Macon in recent days, pressing the flesh and helping with the mobilization.

Grant said that if Nunn and Carter can't improve their support in Middle Georgia, they would have to rely on getting more white women in suburban Atlanta to swing their way. Tuesday's election will see if Middle Georgia made the shift or stayed the course -- all in the name of changing the political status quo.

Tags: Macon, voters, middle Georgia, Perdue, Nunn, Deal, Carter, 2014 elections