Troy Carter | |
|---|---|
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromLouisiana's2nd district | |
| Assumed office May 11, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Cedric Richmond |
| Minority Leader of theLouisiana Senate | |
| In office January 11, 2016 – May 10, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Eric LaFleur |
| Succeeded by | Gerald Boudreaux |
| Member of theLouisiana State Senate from the7th district | |
| In office January 11, 2016 – May 10, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | David Heitmeier |
| Succeeded by | Gary Carter Jr. |
| Member of theNew Orleans City Council from District C | |
| In office 1994–2002 | |
| Preceded by | Jackie Clarkson |
| Succeeded by | Jackie Clarkson |
| Member of theLouisiana House of Representatives from the 102nd district | |
| In office January 1992 – January 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Francis Heitmeier |
| Succeeded by | Jackie Clarkson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Troy Anthony Carter Sr. (1963-10-26)October 26, 1963 (age 62) New Orleans,Louisiana, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Andreé Navarro |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Xavier University of Louisiana (BA) Carnegie Mellon University (attended) University of Holy Cross (MS) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Troy Anthony Carter Sr. (born October 26, 1963) is an American politician serving as theU.S. representative forLouisiana's 2nd congressional district since 2021.[1][2] He was previously a member of theLouisiana State Senate for the 7th district. A member of theDemocratic Party, Carter also previously served on theNew Orleans City Council and as a member of theLouisiana House of Representatives. He is currently one of two Democrats in Louisiana's congressional delegation.
Carter was born inNew Orleans.[3] After graduating fromOliver Perry Walker High School inAlgiers, he attendedXavier University of Louisiana, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree inbusiness administration andpolitical science. He began a master's atCarnegie Mellon University's School of Urban and Public Affairs and completed an executive training program atHarvard Kennedy School.[4] He later received a Master of Science in management from theUniversity of Holy Cross.[5] Carter was raisedCatholic.[6]

Carter has been an adjunct political science instructor atXavier University of Louisiana.[7] Before his election to the state legislature, he served six years as executive assistant toNew Orleans mayorSidney Barthelemy.[8]
Carter was elected as a member of theLouisiana House of Representatives in 1991, becoming the firstAfrican-American to serve District 102 in the Louisiana House.[9] As a state representative in 1993, he introduced legislation to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ individuals. After his election to theLouisiana Senate, he filed similar legislation in 2017 and 2020.[10]
In 1994, he was elected to represent District C on theNew Orleans City Council. He served until 2002, when he unsuccessfully ran formayor, losing theprimary election toRay Nagin andRichard Pennington. He was an unsuccessful candidate forLouisiana's 2nd congressional district seat in 2006 against then-incumbentWilliam J. Jefferson.[11][12]
After several years out of public office, Carter was elected to theLouisiana Senate in 2015.[8] He received 12,935 votes (56.8%) in the 2015 runoff election toJeff Arnold's 9,852 (43.2%).[13] Carter authored or co-sponsored 75 bills that went on to become law.[9] While also serving as chair of theLouisiana Senate Democratic Caucus, Carter chairs the Senate's Labor and Industrial Relations Committee.[14]
Carter also chairs the Algiers Development District.[9]
On November 18, 2020, U.S. RepresentativeCedric Richmond announced that he would resign fromLouisiana's 2nd congressional district in January 2021 after having been selected by President-electJoe Biden to beSenior Advisor to the President and the administration's director of theOffice of Public Liaison. Carter then ran to fill the seat in Congress in thespecial election.[15][16] On March 20, 2021, Carter finished first in the top-two primary and advanced, with runner-up SenatorKaren Carter Peterson, to the runoff election held on April 24.[17]
Carter was endorsed byCedric Richmond,[18]John Breaux,[19] 8 congressionalDemocrats,[20]Helena Moreno,[20]Cleo Fields,Sharon Weston Broome,[21] theAFL–CIO,[20] theLouisiana Democratic Party,[20]The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate,[20]The Louisiana Weekly,[22] andGambit.[20]
In the runoff, Carter received 48,511 votes (55.2%) to Peterson's 39,295 (44.8%).[23]
He was sworn in as theU.S. Representative forLouisiana's 2nd congressional district on May 11, 2021, increasing the Democratic Party's majority to 219–212 over the Republican Party in theUnited States House of Representatives.[2] On August 12, 2022, he voted to pass theInflation Reduction Act of 2022.[24]
For the 118th Congress:[25]

Carter opposesconservative measures that have sought to restrictabortion and expandgun rights.[31] During his term of office as astate senator, he had two priorities: raising the state'sminimum wage and strengtheninganti-discrimination laws against theLGBTQ+ community.[31] He supports theinfrastructure policy of the Biden administration.[31]
Carter voted to provide Israel with support following2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[32][33]
Carter voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the117th Congress, according to aFiveThirtyEight analysis.[34]
Carter's wife Andreé serves in theUnited States Army Reserve, and achieved the rank ofMajor General (United States).[35] Carter has two sons with his first wife, former New Orleans television news anchor Melanie Sanders. He lives on the Westbank of New Orleans, where he was born and raised.[36]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Louisiana State Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minority Leader of theLouisiana Senate 2016–2021 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromLouisiana's 2nd congressional district 2021–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 284th | Succeeded by |