Jimmy Carter's son
eyes U.S. Senate run

Jack Carter, son of the 39th U.S. president, isn't getting any help in his planned run for one of Nevada's U.S. Senate seats from his famous father – polls show 61 percent of people in the state don't even recognize his name.

Jack Carter

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Carter, who has lived in Las Vegas since 2003 and is one of four children of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, announced yesterday he would seek the seat held by Nevada's junior senator John Ensign, a Republican. A formal declaration will be made next month in Las Vegas, where he lives, and Carson City, where his mother will appear with him.

Plaguing his nascent campaign is a lack of name recognition. According to an October 2005 telephone poll of 625 Nevada residents, commissioned by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, 61 percent of people said they hadn't heard of him before – compared with 6 percent for Ensign. The GOP incumbent had the support of 59 percent of the poll's respondents and Carter had 25 percent. Sixteen percent said they were undecided.

"Nevada was never Carter country back in the 1970s, and I just don't think Jack Carter has much of a chance, although you never completely dismiss anyone," said Brad Coker, of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, which conducted the poll. "Absent any fiasco by Ensign, Carter is going to have a tough time."

Indeed, his father had a tough time in the state as well, losing the 1976 and 1980 presidential contests there.

Despite the fact Nevada voters elected Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader, they're sticking with Ensign who won by more than 2-to-1 margins among women, men, Republicans, independents, Clark and Washoe county and rural residents, according to the poll. While Ensign would lose among Democrats, he still pulled 33 percent of their votes. Carter only drew 46 percent of his party's vote.

"That's cool," Carter told the Review-Journal. "That will be the baseline from which I will compare my campaign in coming months ..."

The 58-year-old businessman operates Carter Global, an investment company, and has worked in the finance sector for his entire career. He moved to Las Vegas from Bermuda three years ago.

"I'm disturbed by the Bush administration policies," Carter told Reuters. "I don't like the partisan bickering."

Carter, who worked on his father's 1976 presidential campaign and earlier races in Georgia, says he drew a lesson from the years Jimmy Carter served in the White House: "One person can really make a difference."

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In October, Reid expressed support for Carter's ambition, telling The Hill, a Washington, D.C., newspaper focusing on Congress, "Of course I will support the campaign. I like him. I love his father." Many Nevada Democrats were saying at that time Carter's chances of success would largely hinge on Reid's help, while questioning whether the Democrat was enthusiastic about recruiting a challenger to his colleague Ensign.

Earlier this month, local TV news stations reported that Reid was discussing the possibility of Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman challenging Ensign. Goodman, a Democrat, has broad appeal, having garnered 86 percent of the vote in his last city race.

As reported by WorldNetDaily, Goodman drew national attention when he opined that those who deface freeway areas with graffiti should have their thumbs cut off on television.

Goodman also was responsible for convincing the Strip's famed casinos to turn off their lights for three minutes in a tribute to President Ronald Reagan, following the death of the man who defeated Jimmy Carter in 1980.

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