The grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, Democratic Sen. Jason Carter of Georgia, announced his plans Thursday to run for governor next year.
Carter, 38, plans to challenge incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal and break the GOP's 12-year hold on the Peach State. Deal has recently been fending off
accusations of ethics violations from current and former staffers, according to CBS News.
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"We can’t wait as a state," Carter told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday. "The bottom line is we can’t afford four more years of an economy that’s not working for the middle class and an education system that’s underfunded. It’s not about politics. It’s about making sure we can get the state that we need."
If elected, Carter would be following in his grandfather's footsteps. The 89-year-old former Commander-in-Chief served as a Georgia senator before moving to the governor's mansion in 1971.
Carter's campaign promises to focus on education and the economy.
"We want a Georgia that's at its best," he told the AJC. "And Georgia at its best invests in education, it doesn’t cut billions out of the classrooms, it has an economy that works for the middle class and it always has an honest government."
Carter graduated from Duke University, served in the Peace Corps, and went on to attend the University of Georgia School of Law. He got his political start in 2010, when he came out on top in a four-way race for the Senate seat.
It took some time for the younger Carter to step out of his grandfather's shadow and make a name for himself, and he continues to assure potential voters that his sights are set on the future, not the past.
"He's my grandfather and he cares about me and we talk," Jason Carter said. "But at the end of the day, this campaign will be about getting Georgia back to where it needs to be. It's about the future and not my family."
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