John Rice Carter (born November 6, 1941) is the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

serving since 2003. He is a Republican. The district includes the northern suburbs of

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, as well as

Fort Cavazos Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...

Early life, education, and career

Carter was born in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, but has spent most of his life in

central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas roughly bordered on the west by San Saba, to the southeast by Bryan- College Station, the south by San Marcos and to the north by Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part ...

. He graduated from

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...

with a degree in history in 1964, and earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Texas at Austin, a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas. According to Texas Law’s American Bar ...

in 1969. After graduating from law school, Carter served as the first general counsel to the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

' Agriculture Committee. He later began a private law practice in

Round Rock Round Rock is a city in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city stra ...

. In 1981, Carter was appointed as judge of the 277th District Court of Williamson County. He was elected to the post a year later, the first Republican elected to a countywide position in the county. He was reelected four times.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Carter retired from the bench in 2001 to run for Congress in the newly created 31st District. After finishing second in the Republican primary, he defeated Peter Wareing in the runoff, which was tantamount to election in what was then a heavily Republican district. For his first term, 2003–05, Carter represented a district that stretched from the suburbs of Austin to far western Houston, and included College Station, home of

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. From the

2003 Texas redistricting 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

until 2013, Carter represented a district stretching from the fringes of the

Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, ...

through more rural portions of Central Texas. Redistricting after the 2010 census, which first affected the 2013–15 term, reduced the 31st to

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

and Williamson counties. The 31st now includes

Fort Hood Fort Cavazos is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. The post is currently named after Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a native Texan and the US Army’s first Hispanic four-star general. The post is located halfway between Austi ...

, home of the U.S. Army's 3rd Cavalry Regiment and the 1st Cavalry Division. In 2016, Carter was reelected with 166,060 votes (58.4%) over Democratic nominee Mike Clark and

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

Scott Ballard, who received 103,852 (34.5%) and 14,676 (5.2%), respectively. In 2018, Carter defeated Democratic nominee MJ Hegar with 144,680 votes (50.6%) to her 136,362 (47.7%). It was the smallest victory margin of his career.

Tenure

Carter was the sponsor of the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act, which

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

signed into law in 2004. In the 110th Congress, Carter sponsored and co-sponsored a number of bills, including the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, the Terrorist Death Penalty Act of 2008, and a bill condemning the vandalism of the Vietnam War Memorial on the National Mall. On June 12, 2009, Carter co-sponsored H.R. 1503, which would require the production of a birth certificate from presidential candidates. The bill was introduced as a result of conspiracy theories that claimed that President Barack Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen. On September 15, 2009, in an opinion piece published in ''The Hill'', Carter called the 111th Congress a "house of hypocrisy" after the House of Representatives voted to rebuke Representative Joe Wilson for an outburst but would not go after Representative and House Ways and Means Chair

Charlie Rangel Charles Bernard Rangel ( ; June 11, 1930 – May 26, 2025) was an American politician who served as United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for districts in New York City for 46 years. A member of the Democratic Party (Unite ...

, who had been the subject of numerous ethical problems involving taxes and property. Carter is also a proponent of the "Rangel Rule," where

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

penalties and interest would be eliminated if one paid back taxes, similar to the treatment Rangel,

Treasury Secretary The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

Timothy Geithner Timothy Franz Geithner (; born August 18, 1961) is an American former central banker who served as the 75th United States secretary of the treasury under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. He was the President of the Federal Reserve Bank o ...

, and former Senator (and onetime Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee)

Tom Daschle Thomas Andrew Daschle ( ; born December 9, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who represented South Dakota in the United States Senate from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he led the Senate Democratic Caucus during the ...

received after their tax problems were publicized. Carter introduced a "Privileged Resolution" that would have forced Rangel's resignation as chair of the

Ways and Means Committee A ways and means committee is a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Because the raising of revenue is vital to carrying out governmental operations, such a committee is tasked with fi ...

after he declined to resign voluntarily, citing the inaction of the

House Democratic Caucus The House Democratic Caucus is a congressional caucus composed of all Democratic representatives in the United States House of Representatives, voting and non-voting, and is responsible for nominating and electing the Democratic Party leadersh ...

and the ongoing investigations as reasons. The resolution failed largely along party lines, with two Democrats and six Republicans breaking ranks. Carter amended his financial disclosure forms in October 2009 to list nearly $300,000 in capital gains from the sale of

ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...

stock in 2006 and 2007. Though he listed the sale of the assets, he did not list the actual amount of capital gains, on which he did pay taxes. On November 16, 2009, Carter introduced legislation to give combatant casualty status to the victims of the

2009 Fort Hood shooting On November 5, 2009, a mass shooting took place at Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos), near Killeen, Texas, United States. Nidal Hasan, a Major (United States), U.S. Army major and psychiatrist, fatally shot 13 people and injured more than 30 other ...

, similar to those who were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2015, Carter cosponsored a resolution to amend the US constitution to ban same-sex marriage. On May 16, 2018, Carter was named the new chair of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Appropriations after Charlie Dent retired. He had previously chaired the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations. Carter co-sponsored H.R. 4760, the Securing America's Future Act of 2018, which failed to pass the House. On December 18, 2019, Carter voted against both articles of impeachment against Trump. Of the 195 Republicans who voted, all voted against both impeachment articles. On January 6, 2021, Carter voted against certifying the results of the 2020 United States presidential election based on spurious allegations of voter fraud. Carter was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 On January 19, 2023, the United States hit its United States debt ceiling, debt ceiling, leading to a debt-ceiling crisis, part of an ongoing political debate within United States Congress, Congress about United States federal budget, federal ...

in the House. Carter voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

2024 Republican primary

Carter was named as part of the Trump campaign's Texas leadership team in March.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Appropriations ** Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (Chairman) ** Subcommittee on Defense

Party leadership and caucus memberships

* House Army Caucus (Co-chair) *

House Republican Conference The House Republican Conference is the party caucus for Republicans in the United States House of Representatives. It hosts meetings, and is the primary forum for communicating the party's message to members. The conference produces a daily pu ...

(Secretary) *

United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus The U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus, founded in September 2003, is a bipartisan congressional organization with the conviction that “the United States of America has the opportunity, the obligation and the interests to advan ...

* Republican Steering Committee * Sportsmen's Caucus * Tea Party Caucus * Congressional Cement Caucus * Congressional Western Caucus * I-14 Caucus *

Republican Study Committee The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a congressional caucus of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. In November 2024, Representative August Pfluger was elected as the chair of the RSC, ...

Electoral history

Carter was reelected to his 13th term in Congress in 2024. , - , colspan=13 , , - !Year !Winning candidate !Party !Pct !Opponent !Party !Pct , - ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, style="background:#ffb3b3;", John Carter , style="background:#ffb3b3;", Republican , style="background:#ffb3b3;", 69.1% , style="background:#b3d9ff;", David Bagley , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Democratic , style="background:#b3d9ff;", 27.4% , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, style="background:#ffb3b3;", John Carter (inc.) , style="background:#ffb3b3;", Republican , style="background:#ffb3b3;", 64.8% , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Jon Porter , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Democratic , style="background:#b3d9ff;", 32.5% , - ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, style="background:#ffb3b3;", John Carter (inc.) , style="background:#ffb3b3;", Republican , style="background:#ffb3b3;", 58.5% , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Mary Beth Herrell , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Democratic , style="background:#b3d9ff;", 38.8% , - ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, style="background:#ffb3b3;", John Carter (inc.) , style="background:#ffb3b3;", Republican , style="background:#ffb3b3;", 60.3% , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Brian Ruiz , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Democratic , style="background:#b3d9ff;", 36.6% , - , ,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, style="background:#ffb3b3;", John Carter (inc.) , style="background:#ffb3b3;", Republican , style="background:#ffb3b3;", 82.5% , style="background:#fc9;", Bill Oliver , style="background:#fc9;",

, style="background:#fc9;", 17.5% , - , ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, style="background:#ffb3b3;", John Carter (inc.) , style="background:#ffb3b3;", Republican , style="background:#ffb3b3;", 61.3% , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Stephen Wyman , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Democratic , style="background:#b3d9ff;", 35% , - , ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, style="background:#ffb3b3;", John Carter (inc.) , style="background:#ffb3b3;", Republican , style="background:#ffb3b3;", 64% , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Louie Minor , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Democratic , style="background:#b3d9ff;", 32% , - , ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, style="background:#ffb3b3;", John Carter (inc.) , style="background:#ffb3b3;", Republican , style="background:#ffb3b3;", 58.4% , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Mike Clark , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Democratic , style="background:#b3d9ff;", 36.5% , - , ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, style="background:#ffb3b3;", John Carter (inc.) , style="background:#ffb3b3;", Republican , style="background:#ffb3b3;", 50.6% , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Mary Jennings Hegar , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Democratic , style="background:#b3d9ff;", 47.7% , - , ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, style="background:#ffb3b3;", John Carter (inc.) , style="background:#ffb3b3;", Republican , style="background:#ffb3b3;", 53.5% , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Donna Imam , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Democratic , style="background:#b3d9ff;", 44.3% , - , ,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, style="background:#ffb3b3;", John Carter (inc.) , style="background:#ffb3b3;", Republican , style="background:#ffb3b3;", 100% , style="background:#b3d9ff;", ''None'' , style="background:#b3d9ff;", , style="background:#b3d9ff;", , - , ,

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, style="background:#ffb3b3;", John Carter (inc.) , style="background:#ffb3b3;", Republican , style="background:#ffb3b3;", 64.4% , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Stuart Whitlow , style="background:#b3d9ff;", Democratic , style="background:#b3d9ff;", 35.6%

Personal life

Carter married his wife, Erika, in 1968. They have four children and six grandchildren. Since 1971, they have lived in

Round Rock, Texas Round Rock is a city in Williamson and Travis County, Texas, United States, part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 according to the 2020 census. The city straddles the Balcones Escarpment, Texas State Histor ...

References

External links

Congressman John Carter
official U.S. House website
John Carter for Congress
* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, John 1941 births Activists from Texas American Lutherans Bellaire High School (Bellaire, Texas) alumni Living people Lutherans from Texas People from Round Rock, Texas Protestants from Texas Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Tea Party movement activists Texas state court judges Texas Tech University alumni 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives