Why Troy Carter says he's 'more ready now' to win a seat in Congress
Troy Carter appeared on the cusp of being elected mayor of New Orleans in 2002. He was young, handsome, and well-known to voters, having spent the previous eight years on the City Council. He raised more money than the other candidates, and he reeled in prominent endorsements. But he finished a disappointing fifth in a race won by businessman Ray Nagin.
In 2006, Carter was one of several candidates who challenged U.S. Rep. Bill Jefferson, who was badly wounded by a corruption scandal. Again, he finished fifth and wound up spending more than a decade out of elected office.
Carter earned a second act when he won election to the state Senate in 2015. Now 57, Carter appears to have his last best shot to win higher office as he campaigns to replace Cedric Richmond in a congressional district designed a decade ago to elect a Black Democrat, such as himself. Consisting of 10 parishes, it includes most of New Orleans and the west bank of Jefferson Parish and stretches up the Mississippi through the river parishes into north Baton Rouge, including Southern University.
“I’m certainly more ready now because I have more experience, because I have learned, because I’ve lived, because I’ve seen,” Carter said in an interview. “I’ve been in the vineyards as a private citizen as well as an elected official.”
Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/elections/article_6f658b52-8049-11eb-b615-23d9114008af.html