Democracy is based on people, not land mass.  51% of the people, however much land they occupy, certainly do control what happens in a democracy.  The origin of the word: from dēmos ‘the people’ + -kratia ‘power, rule.’  Nothing to do with acreage, or counties.  I'd also like to point out that the I-5 corridor chips in more than their share of the state income, which benefits the whole state.