Stefani Carter is a Texas State Representative, representing the 102nd District which includes parts of Dallas, and the Northern Dallas County suburbs of Garland, and Richardson.^[1] Carter, was elected in 2010 and made history by becoming the first Republican African-American woman to serve in the Texas House by defeating Democrat Carol Kent.^[2][3]

Early life [edit]

Carter was born in Dallas, Texas, and baptized in Richardson, Texas. Her mother was an elementary school teacher, and her father is an engineer turned entrepreneur, owning a small lawn care company.

Carter excelled in her academics in school, as she was told by her parents if she wanted to go to college, she would have to work to pay for it. She graduated from Plano East High School in 1996 and earned a full scholarship to the University of Texas at Austin where she graduated with highest honors with a B.A. in Government and a B.S. in Journalism. During Carter's undergraduate years at UT she interned at the White House under the Clinton administration.

After graduating from the University of Texas, Carter attended Harvard University where she earned her Jurisprudence Doctorate from Harvard Law School and a Master's in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. During Carter's years at Harvard she became a proud Republican and contributed articles to USA Today. After graduating from law school, she returned to Dallas and served Collin County as an assistant district attorney.

Political career [edit]

Carter decided to run for office in the 102nd House District in Texas, taking on Democrat Carol Kent. Carter won by simply pointing to Kent's record as being far too liberal for her area of Dallas and that voters in the district were far more conservative than the person who was representing them.

Carter won in 2010 with 54.63% of the vote, defeating Kent with a ten-point margin of victory.

Personal life [edit]

Carter is a Dallas native. Being politically conservative, she was named 32nd most conservative member of the legislature. However, she voted for public education bills, often crossing party lines. She is a practicing Catholic and is active in her home district.

References [edit]