Jason Carter | |
|---|---|
 Carter in 2025 | |
| Member of theGeorgia State Senate from the42nd district | |
| In office May 20, 2010 – January 12, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | David I. Adelman |
| Succeeded by | Elena Parent |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jason James Carter (1975-08-07)August 7, 1975 (age 50) Decatur, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Jimmy Carter (paternal grandfather) Rosalynn Carter (paternal grandmother) Amy Carter (aunt) James Beverly Langford (maternal grandfather) James Earl Carter Sr. (great-grandfather) Lillian Gordy Carter (great-grandmother) |
| Education | Duke University (BA) University of Georgia (JD) |
Jason James Carter (born August 7, 1975)[1] is an American lawyer and politician from the state ofGeorgia. Carter served in theGeorgia State Senate from 2010 to 2015 and was theDemocratic Party nominee forgovernor of Georgia in2014. He is the grandson of former U.S. PresidentJimmy Carter.[2]
Carter was born atEmory University Hospital on August 7, 1975. A ninth-generation Georgian, he is a grandson of former president and first ladyJimmy andRosalynn Carter and the son ofJack Carter and Judy Langford, daughter of former Georgia state senatorJames Beverly Langford. After graduating fromEvanston Township High School, where he won the Illinois State Policy Debate championship in 1993, Carter attendedDuke University, where he obtained aBachelor of Arts with a double major inphilosophy andpolitical science.[3]
After graduating fromDuke University, Carter served in thePeace Corps stationed inSouth Africa. In doing so he followed the example of his great grandmother,Lillian Carter (President Jimmy Carter's mother), who became a Peace Corps volunteer at age 68 and spent nearly two years in India working as a nurse with patients with leprosy. Jason Carter lived inLochiel, South Africa, where he worked on education issues in rural areas. He learned to speakZulu andSiswati.[4] He wrote a book, titledPower Lines, about his experiences there.[5]
Carter later attended theUniversity of Georgia School of Law, graduatingsumma cum laude with aJuris Doctor in 2004.[6] He clerked forFrank M. Hull on theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit after graduating from law school.[7]
In 2013, he was a partner at the law firm of Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore inAtlanta.[8] He has represented theNational Football League Players Association[4] and won theStuart Eizenstat Young Lawyer Award, given by theAnti-Defamation League, for hispro bono work defendingvoting rights.[9]
In a May 11, 2010 special election, Carter was elected to represent Georgia's 42nd district in the state senate. He won with 65.6% of the vote.[10] The seat had been vacated byDavid I. Adelman, who became theUnited States Ambassador to Singapore.[11] Carter is the first member of his family to win elected office since his grandfather was electedPresident of the United States.[10]Carter was later re-elected to the Senate in the 2010[12] and 2012[13] general elections.
In the Senate, Carter authored legislation to require the state budget to be presented in two parts: first, a separate education budget, and then a budget to fund the rest of state government.[14]
Carter also sponsored ethics reform legislation, including proposals to limit gifts from lobbyists to legislators, to create and fully fund an independent ethics commission, and to create a non-partisan redistricting commission.[15][16][17]
In 2012, he was awarded Common Cause's Democracy Award for his work on promoting ethics reform.[18]
In 2014, Carter voted for House Bill (H.B.) 60, the Safe Carry Protection Act, which opponents nicknamed the "guns everywhere" bill.[19][20] The Safe Carry Protection Act which took effect on July 1, 2014, permits licensed gun owners to carry guns into many public and private places.[20][21][22][23][24][25] The law is supported by the Georgia Baptist Convention which includes 3,600 Baptist churches in Georgia in favor of increased church autonomy,[24] but is not supported by Catholic or Episcopal church leaders.[24]
In 2013, Carter commissioned a poll of a potential race againstNathan Deal in the 2014 gubernatorial election.[27] He subsequently announced that he would run for the Democratic nomination.[28]
During his campaign, Carter advocated increased investment in education and technical training to help grow Georgia's film and television industry. "Georgia has seen enormous growth in film and television production, but that success is threatened unless we build the skilled workforce to fill these jobs." Carter said, and added "After years of cuts to HOPE and to our schools, industries across the state simply cannot find the skilled workers they need to fill their jobs."[29]
Polls suggested a surprisingly close race given Georgia's recent electoral history.Real Clear Politics upgraded the race from "Leans GOP" to "Toss Up."[30] Carter also out-raised the incumbent Deal in the second quarter.[31]
Carter said that people in Georgia have the right to have the Sons of Confederate Veterans-backed license plate, which features an image of the Confederate flag and that he would not try to stop them if elected.[32][33][34]
During his campaign, Carter reaffirmed his support for the legalization ofsame-sex marriage, stating, "Marriage equality is something I believe in and have [believed in] for a very, very, very long time since before I got into politics."[35]
In a WSB-TV debate which aired live onC-SPAN, Carter criticized Deal's handling of the state's economy by stating that 380,000 Georgians were looking for jobs and that state government support for public education had dropped.[36]
Carter lost his 2014 bid for the office of governor to incumbentNathan Deal by 7.9%, receiving 44.9% of the vote.[37]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Nathan Deal (incumbent) | 1,345,237 | 52.74% | −0.28% | |
| Democratic | Jason Carter | 1,144,794 | 44.88% | +1.91% | |
| Libertarian | Andrew Hunt | 60,185 | 2.36% | −1.65% | |
| n/a | Write-ins[39] | 432 | 0.02% | +0.02% | |
| Total votes | 2,550,648 | 100.0% | N/A | ||
| Republicanhold | |||||
In November 2015, Jason Carter became Chair of the Board of Trustees of theCarter Center. He had previously served on the Board since 2009.[40]
Carter's wife, Kate, is a high school teacher and former journalist with theAthens Banner-Herald, where she won several awards.[41] They have two sons, Henry (b. 2006) and Thomas (b. 2008).[4][11][42]
Carter gave a eulogy athis grandfather's state funeral in January 2025.[43]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Georgia 2014 | Succeeded by |
| Work |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Books | ||
| Family |
| |
| Homes | ||
| Related | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
