Jason Carter in State of Georgia Archives
On Abortion:
Voted against restrictions on abortion rights
- Carter voted NO on March 3, 2014 on SB 98: Prohibits Abortion Coverage in a Qualified Health Plan (Bill Passed Senate, 35-18)
- Carter voted NO on March 26, 2012 on HB 954: Prohibits Abortions after 20 Weeks (Bill Passed Senate, 36-19)
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Carter voted NO on March 7, 2012 on SB 438: Prohibits State Employee Insurance Coverage of Abortions (Bill Passed Senate, 33-18)
- Carter voted NO on March 16, 2011 on SB 210: Liability for Violations of Abortion Laws (Bill Passed Senate, 36-16)
Source: Vote-Smart voting records: 2014 Georgia governor race
Mar 3, 2014
On Civil Rights:
Civil marriage equality, but don't tell churches what to do
Jason Carter solidified his support for marriage equality this week, first in a campaign statement and later in an interview. A campaign spokesman said that "Jason has long supported marriage equality, and has said so to anyone who asked him. He doesn't
think we should ever be in a position of telling churches what to do, but has long been on the record in support of civil marriage equality."The statement came in response to an editorial in The GA Voice that criticized him for sidestepping the issue,
despite attending various LGBT-related events.
Carter himself later said, "I have, for a very long time, supported marriage equality. Everybody who knows me knows where I stand on the issue. I haven't had a conversion. I do think it's important for
people to know that no one in the movement is talking about telling churches what to do. But as far as the government is concerned, marriage equality is something I have believed in for a very, very, very long time since before I got into politics."
Source: The Huffington Post on 2014 Georgia gubernatorial race
Aug 6, 2014
On Crime:
No ban on the death penalty
Jason Carter distances himself from a man he has loved and admired since boyhood: his grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter. Of the elder Carter's call to ban the death penalty, his grandson said, "I love my grandfather, but we disagree." And when
grandfather Carter offered to attend a campaign rally in Albany, Ga., his grandson politely asked him to stay home. "He wanted the people of southwest Georgia to see that he was a man of his own," the former president said in an interview in his office.
So it goes in what may be the nation's most awkward legacy campaign. Political families--from the Roosevelts to the Kennedys, Bushes and Clintons--have long been a part of American politics. Carter's bid to unseat Gov. Nathan Deal, the Republican
incumbent, is testing the strength and durability of the Carter name in Georgia, a red state that Democrats hope to turn blue. But it is also a test of something more: a deep bond between a 38-year-old grandson and an 89-year-old grandfather.
Source: N.Y. Times on 2014 Georgia gubernatorial race
Jul 26, 2014
On Principles & Values:
Grandfather Jimmy Carter participates in grandson's campaign
Democrats lost the Georgia statehouse in 2002, and the once Solid South is a distant memory for their party. It has been four decades since the elder Mr. Carter was governor, and more than three since he left the White House--"involuntarily retired," he
likes to say. "Mr. Jimmy," as locals know him, is a revered figure here. But the former president arouses intense passions among conservatives, who detest his politics. Republicans lampoon him as a failed leader. Senator Carter is the son of Jack
Carter, the eldest of Jimmy and Rosalynn's four children. Like his grandfather, he is seeking the governorship after just four years in the State Senate.
"He wants it both ways," said one supporter of Gov. Deal. "He wants his granddaddy's
help with contributors, but when it comes to the issues, he distances himself. My guess is if his last name were Jones, you and I might not be having this conversation."
Source: N.Y. Times on 2014 Georgia gubernatorial race
Jul 26, 2014
On Foreign Policy:
Declares his powerful connection to Israel
Like many candidates, Jason Carter, the Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia, is courting the Jewish vote. But when Carter, a state senator, declared his "powerful connection" to Israel, it was more than a campaign sound bite.
It was a not-so-subtle attempt to distance himself from a man he has loved and admired since boyhood: his grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter.
The former president's views on Israel are not the only ones to make his grandson squirm. Of the elder Carter's call to ban the death penalty, his grandson said, "I love my grandfather, but we disagree."
The elder
Mr. Carter has plunged into his grandson's campaign. "He got elected governor of Georgia by shaking 600,000 hands," the younger Mr. Carter said. "That's what he would tell you: 'You've got to go to the grocery store and shake everybody's hand.' "
Source: N.Y. Times on 2014 Georgia gubernatorial race
Jul 26, 2014
On Government Reform:
Verifiable paper trail important for credibility in voting
Q: Do you support a voter verified paper audit trail in electronic voting?A: I would rather see a paper trail. I have personally monitored elections in other countries.
One of the most important aspect and credibility of those elections is a verifiable paper trail that people can look at and see that their votes have been counted.
In order to achieve it, we have to figure out how much it costs. We have to do all the things that are required to make a real policy out of it. As a concept, I wish we had a paper trail.
I would certainly call for it. I think it's important for credibility of that system. People need to know that their votes are counted.
Source: Atlanta Progressive News Q&A: 2014 Georgia Governor's race
Feb 13, 2014
On Gun Control:
Rated 92% by National Rifle Association
2012 rating by National Rifle Association for Candidate Positions on Gun Rights: 92%NRA website's self-description: While widely recognized today as a major political force and as America's foremost defender of Second Amendment rights, the NRA has,
since its inception, been the premier firearms education organization in the world. Our nearly three million members have given to champion Second Amendment rights and support NRA programs.
Source: NRA Ratings on 2014 Georgia gubernatorial race
Dec 31, 2012
On Gun Control:
Let local communities decide if teachers can be armed
Q: Do you think teachers should be armed in schools? CARTER: What we've done is allowed communities to make those decisions for themselves.
There are some communities in my state that will feel safer if their school districts are allowed to make those decisions. And there's other communities where they won't. And those communities will get to decide for themselves.
Source: Atlanta Journal-Const. on 2019-20 Georgia 2-year Senate race
Apr 21, 2014
On Health Care:
Expanding Medicaid brings tax dollars back to Georgia
Q: What are your thoughts about House Bill 990, which would require legislative approval for any expansion of Medicaid in Georgia?A: I think it's essentially a political bill.
Q: You're in favor of Medicaid expansion?
A: What I believe is that we
have to look at this problem critically. I think expansion should be on the table, and make sure those folks (eligible for coverage) can get either private insurance on the exchanges or get a Medicaid-like expansion--it all has to be on the table.
I think we will do one of those things if I'm elected governor.
Q: Are you going to make expansion and health reform issues in your campaign?
A: I think that it makes economic sense for our state to ensure that we draw down our tax dollars and bring them back to Georgia to improve the health options that our citizens have.
Source: Athens Banner-Herald on 2014 Georgia gubernatorial race
Mar 22, 2014
On Health Care:
Claimed water kills Ebola; "I was misinformed"
The three candidates sparred over whether Georgia is properly prepared for a possible Ebola case, as Deal's rivals criticized him for telling a newspaper last week that "water kills the Ebola virus."
Both were eager to remind a television audience of those remarks on Sunday.Hunt said Deal lacks the firsthand knowledge to lead Georgia's response. And Carter said his experience working in the Peace Corps in
South Africa during disease outbreaks would serve him well.
Deal, for his part, said he was "misinformed" by his public health commissioner.
Minutes before the debate, he appointed a task force to formulate the state's response to the deadly virus.
Source: Atlanta Journal-Const. on 2014 Georgia Senate race
Oct 19, 2014
On Health Care:
ObamaCare a "mess" that needs fixing
Georgia Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Jason Carter said he shared in voters' frustration with ObamaCare and is hoping to see a "fix" from President Barack Obama. "I think folks are feeling like [ObamaCare] is a mess and so what
I'm hoping to see from the president is some kind of fix, but right now, I think folks are really frustrated, including me," Carter said on MSNBC's "Thomas Roberts."
Source: Politico.com on 2019-20 Georgia 2-year Senate race
Nov 14, 2013
On Health Care:
Let ObamaCare plans cover abortion
Legislative Summary: A BILL relating to insurance, to provide opt out of funding abortions through qualified health plans: No abortion coverage shall be provided by a qualified health plan offered within the federal
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [ObamaCare], except in the case of medical emergency.OnTheIssues Interpretation:
ObamaCare requires that healthcare plans fund abortions; this state law would remove that stipulation from Georgia insurance plans offered under ObamaCare. Voting NO means abortion coverage would be required in healthcare plans.
Legislative Outcome: Passed Senate 37-18-1 on March 18, vote #676; passed House 105-64-7 on March 18, vote #795; Sen. Jason Carter voted NO; signed by Gov. Deal April 21
Source: Georgia legislative voting records: SB 98
Mar 18, 2014
On Immigration:
Voted to keep public benefits for undocumented immigrants
- Carter voted NO on March 5, 2012 on SB 458: Repeals Certain Public Benefits for Undocumented Immigrants (Bill Passed Senate, 34-19)
- Carter voted NO on April 14, 2011 on HB 87: Immigration Enforcement Act (Concurrence
Vote Passed Senate, 37-19)
- Carter voted NO on March 14, 2011 on SB 40: Immigration Status Verification of Private Business Workers (Bill Passed Senate, 34-21)
Source: Vote-Smart voting records: 2014 Georgia governor race
Mar 3, 2014
On Jobs:
Employers need skilled workers: more technical schools
Q: What is your plan to increase jobs and grow the economy in Georgia?A: The most important thing we can do in Georgia with respect to having a healthy economy is to ensure that our education system is viable and is educating people to have the skills
they need. The biggest anchor we have on economic growth, right now, is our education system. The Governor's policies with respect to technical schools, higher education, K through 12, have all undermined our ability to grow toward the future.
The other piece that is important to me is technical schools. We have lost 45,000 students in our technical schools because of the Governor's policies. That is an economic disaster waiting to happen. We've got employers that need folks
with skills and we've got people who want to move up in the world and need those skills and they are not able to go to technical schools, and that's not good for anybody.
Source: Atlanta Progressive News Q&A: 2014 Georgia Governor's race
Feb 13, 2014
On Principles & Values:
I've passed 21 bipartisan bills in the legislature
The sharpest attacks [in the gubernatorial debate came over less lofty policy platforms. Early in the debate, Deal panned Carter as a two-term state senator who had little to show for his time in the statehouse. "You've never passed a bill.
Never offered an amendment to many of the bills you now are criticizing," he said. "Why should Georgians vote for you with this absolute lack of leadership experience?"
Carter, in a curt response, said the attack was misguided. "There are 21 bipartisan bills that have my name on them, that you signed into law,"
Carter said. "And at the same time, the attacks on my leadership are frankly just an attempt, I believe, to pass the buck."
Source: Atlanta Journal-Const. on 2014 Georgia Gubernatorial debate
Oct 19, 2014
On Principles & Values:
Comfortable talking about his religious faith
Jason Carter stepped into the pulpit of South Columbus United Methodist Church for a Palm Sunday sermon and offered a message of Christian responsibility to the poor, with his phone in hand. "How many of you have the Bible (app) on your phone?
I bet all of you do," Carter said to laughs from the crowd. Worshippers listened as the Democrat running for Georgia governor read from his phone a New Testament verse about the importance of "things that are not seen."
Source: Chattanooga Free Press on 2019-20 Georgia 2-year Senate race
Jun 30, 2014
On Tax Reform:
Discuss regional sales tax to deal with local issues
Carter said it was time to revive the idea of a regional sales tax for infrastructure improvements to fix a transportation dilemma he said is weighing down Georgia's economy like an "anchor."
He said one option would be allowing counties to band together to levy their own tax. "There has to be some way that we're going to sit down and have a robust discussion about how to fund it."
Source: Atlanta Journal-Const. on 2019-20 Georgia 2-year Senate race
Aug 19, 2014
On Tax Reform:
Step up investment in pursuing tax cheats
He pledged to go after tax cheats to help rev up state revenue. "There's $2.5 billion that is uncollected out there from people who are cheating on their taxes, and against whom we aren't enforcing the law," the Atlanta state senator said. "That's
$2.5 billion dollars of money that's gone uncollected by our state government for years now." Carter said state government should step up its investment in pursuing tax cheats and rooting out wasteful spending.
Source: Atlanta Journal-Const. on 2019-20 Georgia 2-year Senate race
Aug 28, 2014
On Welfare & Poverty:
No mandatory drug testing for food stamp recipients
Legislative Summary: A BILL to require drug testing for applicants for food stamps; to provide requirements; to provide that any person who fails such drug test shall be ineligible to receive food stamps; to provide for reapplication;
to provide for children's food stamps; and to provide for confidentiality of records. The term 'established drug test' means the collection and testing of bodily fluids administered in a manner equivalent to that required by the
Federal Workplace Drug Testing Program. However, where possible and practicable, a swab test shall be used in lieu of a urinalysis. Drug tests may be conducted when any information obtained by the department that reasonable suspicion exists.
Legislative Outcome: Passed Senate 21-32-3 on March 20, vote #729; passed House 100-67-13 on March 20, vote #728; Sen. Jason Carter voted NO; signed by Gov. Deal April 29.
Source: Georgia legislative voting records: HB 772
Mar 20, 2014
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023