Earl LeRoy “Buddy” Carter (born September 6, 1957)^[2] is an American pharmacist and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Georgia’s 1st congressional district since 2015. The district is based in Savannah and includes most of the state’s coastal southern portion. A member of the Republican Party, Carter served as a Georgia state representative (2005–2009) and Georgia state senator (2009–2014).^[3][4] His congressional district encompasses much of Georgia’s coastal region, including Savannah, Brunswick, and the Golden Isles.

Carter is a licensed pharmacist and the only pharmacist currently serving in Congress, which has shaped his legislative priorities, particularly on healthcare and prescription drug policies. In Congress, he has been an advocate for lowering drug prices, expanding access to healthcare, and deregulating the pharmaceutical industry. He has also been an outspoken proponent of conservative economic policies, tax reform, and environmental deregulation, often aligning with party leadership on key issues.

Throughout his tenure, Carter has served on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Budget Committee, influencing legislation on healthcare, telecommunications, and fiscal policy. He is also a member of several congressional caucuses, including the Republican Study Committee, the House Baltic Caucus, and the Congressional Blockchain Caucus.

Carter graduated in 1975 from Robert W. Groves High School in Garden City, Georgia. He earned an associate degree from Young Harris College in 1977 and a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from the University of Georgia in 1980. Carter was conferred the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Young Harris College at its 2024 commencement ceremony.^[5]

Carter served on the planning and zoning commission for the city of Pooler from 1989 to 1993 and on Pooler’s city council from 1994 to 1995. He served as Pooler’s mayor from 1996 to 2004. Carter was first elected to the state legislature in 2005, serving two terms in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2006 to 2010. He was elected to the Georgia Senate in 2009.^[3] He sat on the Senate Appropriations, Health and Human Services, Higher Education, and Public Safety committees.^[3]

Carter gave up his state senate seat in 2014 to run for Congress after 22-year incumbent Jack Kingston announced he was running for the United States Senate. He finished first in the six-way Republican primary–the real contest in this heavily Republican district–with 36% of the vote, short of the 51% required for outright victory.^[6] He then defeated Bob Johnson in the runoff with 53% of the vote.^[7] In the general election, he defeated the Democratic nominee, Brian Reese, with 60.9% of the vote, carrying all but two counties in the district.^[8] In 2016, he was unopposed in both the primary and general elections, and received over 99% of the vote against a write-in candidate.^[9][10]

Carter was reelected in 2018, 2020, and 2022.^[11]

For the 119th Congress:^[12]

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Environment
  • Subcommittee on Health (Chair)
• Committee on the Budget

• Congressional Blockchain Caucus^[13]
• Congressional Western Caucus^[14]
• House Baltic Caucus^[15]
• Republican Study Committee^[16]
• Republican Governance Group^[17]
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus^[18]
• U.S.–Japan Caucus^[19]

Carter has announced his candidacy in the Republican primary for the 2026 United States Senate election in Georgia. In his campaign announcement, Carter cited securing the border and ending transgender athletes’ participation in school sports as priorities, criticizing incumbent Democrat Jon Ossoff‘s approach to these issues.^[20]

In December 2020, Carter was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania (2020), a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated^[21] Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.^[22][23][24]

On January 6, 2021, in a vote held after protestors stormed the U.S. Capitol, Carter voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results in which Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump.^[25]

In 2017, Carter renewed his push to drug-test people who receive unemployment insurance.^[26]

On April 1, 2022, Carter voted against the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, which would have decriminalized cannabis at the federal level, allowing states to set their own policies.^[27][28]

Carter supports the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).^[29]

On July 26, 2017, Carter was asked during a live television interview if he supported Trump‘s criticism of U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski for her opposition to the procedural vote to begin the Senate’s healthcare debate. Carter said he did, adding, “Somebody needs to go over there to that Senate and snatch a knot in their ass.”^[30] The incident prompted widespread media coverage.^[31][32][33]

Carter voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017,^[34] saying he believed it would make businesses in his district more competitive in a global market. He also said it would help his constituents earn and/or save more money.^[35] Carter is a sponsor of “H.R.25 The FairTax Act of 2023” which would abolish the current US tax structure and replace it with a yearly adjustable variable “national sales tax” (value-added tax) starting at 23% in 2025 to be administered by the states and remitted to the Treasury of the United States.^[36]

Carter co-sponsored a bill that would let illegal immigrants serve in the U.S. military in exchange for legal residency.^[37]

Carter supported Trump’s 2017 executive order to temporarily curtail immigration from seven countries until better screening methods are devised. He said, “While I believe there needs to be thoughtful clarifications on the executive actions similar to Secretary Kelly’s announcement about lawful permanent residents, the number one priority of the federal government is to provide for the common defense.”^[38]

Carter wants to prohibit all federal funding from sanctuary cities in Georgia (sanctuary cities prohibit city officials from asking about a person’s immigration status when they report an unrelated crime).^[39] He also said he would like to test the huge backlog of rape kits in Georgia, except in sanctuary cities.^[40]

Carter supported the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade. He believes abortion laws should be made by individual states.^[41]

In 2017, Carter said he supported a ban on transgender people serving in the military.^[42][43]

Carter is a supporter of gun rights, and has an “A” rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund for his stances on gun issues.^[44]

In February 2018, during a town hall in Hinesville, when asked about mass shootings in America, Carter told attendees to not look to Congress for answers about gun violence, saying Congress is not responsible for gun violence in America.^[45]

Carter voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.^[46][47]

Carter and his wife, Amy, have three adult sons.^[1]

Carter is a Methodist.^[48] He is not related to late former U.S. President and fellow Georgian Jimmy Carter.^[49]

• Congressman Buddy Carter official U.S. House website
• Buddy Carter for Congress
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart