Rep. Julia Carson (D) Elected 1996, 5th term
Born:	July 8, 1938, Louisville, KY
Home:	Indianapolis
Education:	attended Martin U., IU-Purdue at Indianapolis
Religion:	Baptist
Marital Status:	divorced
Elected  Office:	IN House of Reps., 1972-76; IN Senate, 1976-90; Marion Cty. Center Township Trustee, 1991-96.
Professional Career:	Secy., UAW, 1962-63; Legis. Aide, U.S. Rep. Andy Jacobs, 1965-72.
DC Office	1535 LHOB20515, 202-225-4011; Fax: 202-225-5633; Web site: www.juliacarson.house.gov
State Offices	Indianapolis, 317-283-6516.
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Indianapolis, radiating outward from the Soldiers and Sailors statue in Monument Circle, is precisely at the center of Indiana, dominating it as few other cities do a state. It is the political and governmental capital, industrial and financial center, and the intellectual center of Indiana as well. It is symmetrically laid out: Just to the west of the circle is the state Capitol, to the north is the American Legion headquarters, to the east is the City-County building, and to the south is the Circle Center mall, and the RCA Dome (formerly Hoosier Dome). Farther out are some classic and some new Indianapolis institutions: the Indiana University Medical Center, the Convention Center, the Eiteljorg Museum of Native American and Western Art and the new Indiana State Museum, Conseco Fieldhouse and NCAA headquarters. Indianapolis has become the nation's amateur sports capital, especially for basketball, and one of the most popular places for religious conventions. Eli Lilly and Company has expanded its already large corporate presence. The city has the world's biggest children's museum.

Politically, Indianapolis has long had robust competition in national as well as local races. Republicans held the mayor's office from 1967, when Richard Lugar won it, until 1999, when Stephen Goldsmith retired and became a top adviser to George W. Bush. Lugar expanded Indianapolis's city limits to include all of Marion County in UniGov, which made it a solidly Republican constituency then; Goldsmith became a national innovator in privatization, by putting services up for bid he saved taxpayers money and spurred city employees to come up with innovations. But more recently affluent young people have been moving to counties farther out, and Marion County has been trending Democratic. In 2004, Marion County voted for John Kerry by 51%-49%, even as seven surrounding suburban counties gave Bush 70% to 75% of their votes.

Indiana's 7th Congressional District includes most of Indianapolis and Marion County. It includes all of Center Township, a Democratic stronghold with a large black population and gentrified middle class, but does not include all of the affluent, Republican northern edge of the county. It extends west to include Speedway, where the Indianapolis 500 has been held on a 2.5 mile track since 1911, and southward and east to modest neighborhoods, including Amtrak's largest repair yard in Beech Grove; Mexicans, whose population nearly tripled in size during the 1990s, are the newest immigrant group. Within these boundaries, the 7th District leans Democratic, and it gave Bill Clinton, Al Gore and John Kerry solid margins.

The congresswoman from the 7th District is Julia Carson, a Democrat first elected in 1996. Carson was born to an unmarried teenage mother and grew up in poverty, working as a waitress, newspaper deliverer and summer farm laborer; she can remember going to the welfare office for a ration of cornmeal and lard. As a divorced mother, she raised two children and then two grandchildren. In 1965 she was hired away from her job as a secretary at UAW Local 550 by newly elected Congressman Andy Jacobs to do casework in his Indianapolis office. When his election prospects looked dim in 1972 (he did lose, but won the seat back two years later), he encouraged Carson to run for the state House; she won, then was elected to the state Senate in 1976. In 1990 she was elected as Center Township trustee, the position responsible for running welfare in central Indianapolis. In 1996, when Jacobs retired, Carson decided to run. She won his endorsement and that of the local Democratic organization. She was outspent by former prosecutor and party chairman Ann DeLaney, but won the primary 49%-31%. The Republican nominee was Virginia Blankenbaker, a stockbroker and state senator. In this race between two grandmothers, both were more liberal than many in their parties, pro-choice on abortion and against the death penalty. Many commentators wondered whether a black Democrat could beat a white Republican in this district, but Carson raised and spent almost as much as Blankenbaker; she won 53%-45%.

Carson has compiled a liberal voting record, but chronic health problems have limited her activity. She was sworn into office from her hospital bed after heart surgery in January 1997, and was hospitalized in December 1999 with a serious case of pneumonia. In 2004, she missed close to 200 House votes, complaining of a lack of energy; her doctor imposed a diet and exercise regimen, and halted her weekly commute to Washington. She worked with Senator Richard Lugar to enact a bill wiping away bureaucratic roadblocks to child health insurance. In the House, Carson sometimes has been unpredictable. One of the last House members to decide how to vote on normal trade relations with China, she spent the final hours before the vote chatting with Clinton for 45 minutes at the White House (but refusing to tell him how she would vote), listening to union officials, and then talking to CNN. Her vote for the measure left organized labor steaming, but its Indiana officials supported her reelection because they liked her overall record. In November 2001, human-rights concerns caused her to agonize over the anti-terrorism bill, which she finally supported. She voted against trade promotion authority and against the use of force in Iraq.

Carson has faced serious competition at home. In 2002, redistricting made the district slightly more welcoming for Republican candidates; public affairs specialist and former Senate Republican aide Brose McVey ran, saying that Indianapolis needs "a congressman with energy and creativity" and that Carson was "out of step with her own constituency." Carson cited the federal funds that she delivered for local development and anti-violence programs; she said that Congress should put "the skids on the tax cuts" until the economy strengthened. McVey raised large amounts from the local business community and received national Republican backing in an ad that accused Carson of not paying her property taxes on time from 1997 to 2001. During their final pre-election debate, Carson walked off the stage to protest "the lowest common denominator" and "racial polarization" campaign run by McVey. Using that message to motivate her strong grass-roots network, Carson won 53%-44%. In 2004 her Republican opponent raised little money and was unable to arrange joint appearances; when the Indianapolis Star endorsed Carson, he protested outside its offices and burned a copy of the newspaper. Still, Carson won by only 54%-44%, suggesting that there is an entrenched anti-Carson (as well as a pro-Carson) vote. Carson, who said during the campaign that her work was not limited to votes in the House, returned to the hospital an hour after her victory speech but claimed that she was visiting a friend. She accused political rivals of fueling speculation about her health.

Committees

• Financial Services (10th of 32 D): Financial Institutions & Consumer Credit; Housing & Community Opportunity.
• Transportation & Infrastructure (26th of 34 D): Economic Development, Public Buildings & Emergency Management; Highways, Transit & Pipelines; Railroads.

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	75	94	100	64	12	7	29	0	0	25	--
2003	95	--	100	95	--	21	33	9	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	75%	--	25%		92%	--	8%
Social	82%	--	18%		81%	--	19%
Foreign	88%	--	11%		*	--	*
For National Journal's complete 2004 Vote Ratings, as well as previous ratings dating back to 1995, please click here.

Key Votes Of The 108th Congress (More Info)
1. Drilling in ANWR N 2. Approve Bush Tax Cuts N 3. Medicare/Rx Bill N 4. Bar Overtime Pay Regs. Y 5. DC School Vouchers N 6. Ban Human Cloning *		7. Restrict Gun Liability N  8. Ban Partial-Birth Abortion N  9. Ban Same-Sex Marriage N 10. Fund Iraq War N 11. Bar Cuba Embargo Funds Y 12. Intelligence Reorg. N

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 general	Julia Carson (D)	121,303	54%	$419,603
	Andy Horning (R)	97,491	44%	$25,303
	Other	4,381	2%
2004 primary	Julia Carson (D)	30,915	89%
	Bob Hidalgo (D)	3,652	11%
2002 general	Julia Carson (D)	77,478	53%	$1,099,924
	Brose McVey (R)	64,379	44%	$1,105,370
	Other	3,983	3%
Prior winning percentages: 2000 (59%); 1998 (58%); 1996 (53%)

2004 Presidential Vote Kerry (D) 130,779 (58%) Bush (R) 93,347 (42%)

2000 Presidential Vote Gore (D) 109,800 (55%) Bush (R) 84,362 (43%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Seventh District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: D + 9
• District Size: 265 square miles
• Population in 2000: 675,674; 99.7% urban; 0.3% rural
• Median Household Income: $36,522; 13.5% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 26.2% blue collar; 57.7% white collar; 16.1% gray collar; 12.6% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 63.0% White, 29.4% Black, 1.3% Asian, 0.2% Amer. Indian, 0.0% Hawaiian, 1.5% Two+ races, 0.2% Other, 4.4% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 12.3% German, 7.8% Irish, 7.8% USA
• Click here for statewide demographic data.