Jason Carter Wins in Georgia

RPCV  Jason  (South Africa 1998-2000) author of Power Lines, his Peace Corps memoir published by the National Geographic Society in 2002, has won the Democrat nomination for governor of Georgia. Jason is the great-grandson of RPCV writer Lillian Carter (India 1967-69) who wrote Away From Home: Letters to My Family, published by Simon & Schuster, 1977.  Jason is a state senator Georgia and the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter.

Carter, 38, was first elected to the Georgia Senate in May 2010 and has been at the forefront among Democrats on issues like education and redistricting.

While Democrats once dominated state politics, the Republicans have been the party in power since 2002 when Sonny Perdue became the first Republican governor of Georgia since Reconstruction. The state has voted for every Republican presidential nominee since 2000, although President Barack Obama garnered 47 percent of voters in 2008. Last year, Obama received 45.5 percent of the vote.

Also on the ballot in 2014 will be Democrat Michelle Nunn, who is running for U.S. Senate. Nunn’s father is former U.S. Sam Nunn, Democrats are clearly hoping a strong slate with both Nunn and Carter on the ballot and an emphasis on economic and education issues will be able to connect with not only big-city voters but those who hail from rural parts of the state.

Jason  lives in Atlanta and is married with two sons.