Grandson of Rep. Carson wins seat
The grandson of the late Rep. Julia Carson of Indiana won a special election Tuesday to succeed her, keeping the seat in Democratic hands and becoming the second Muslim ever elected to Congress.
Andre Carson had a 4,000-vote lead over Republican Jon Elrod out of nearly 49,000 votes counted. With 88% of 445 precincts reporting, Carson had about 53% of the vote, compared with about 44% for Elrod.
Carson, 33, will represent a district that covers most of Indianapolis. Julia Carson died in December.
Elrod, 30, a first-term state representative, had promoted himself as a moderate focused on fiscal reforms, such as eliminating most earmark funding for projects sought by members of Congress. He also had refused to join the other 48 Indiana House Republicans in backing a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages.
Both candidates have little political experience.
Andre Carson has been a member of Indianapolis City-County Council since August.
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