# Charles D. Carter

Charles David Carter (August 16, 1868 – April 9, 1929) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 4th and 3rd congressional districts from 1907 to 1927. He was appointed by President William McKinley as Mining Trustee for Indian Territory, which he served as from 1900 to 1904.
Carter was active in the Chickasaw Nation and served as its auditor, on the Chickasaw Council, and as superintendent of Chickasaw Schools.

## Early life

Charles David Carter was born near Boggy Depot, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), Carter moved with his father to Mill Creek, a stage stand on the western frontier of the Chickasaw Nation, in April 1876. Carter was of Chickasaw and Cherokee descent. He attended the Indian day schools and Chickasaw Manual Training Academy at Tishomingo.
Carter was employed on a ranch from 1887 to 1889 and in a mercantile establishment in Ardmore, Oklahoma, from 1889 to 1892. He married Ada Gertrude Wilson on December 29, 1891 and they had four children, Stella LeFlore, Italy Cecil, Julia Josephine, and Benjamin Wisnor Carter, Jr. After Ada's death on January 30, 1901, he married Cecile Whittington Jones on January 8, 1911.

## Public service

Carter served as auditor of public accounts of the Chickasaw Nation from 1892 to 1894, a member of the Chickasaw Council in 1895, then superintendent of schools of the Chickasaw Nation in 1897. He was appointed mining trustee of Indian Territory by President William McKinley in November 1900 and served four years.
Carter was Secretary of the first Democratic executive committee of the proposed State of Oklahoma from June to December 1906. Upon the admission of Oklahoma as a State into the Union, he was elected as a Democrat to the Sixtieth and to the nine succeeding Congresses, serving from November 16, 1907, to March 4, 1927.
Carter served as chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs (Sixty-fifth Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1926. He was appointed to the State highway commission, serving 1927-1929.

## Death

Carter died in Ardmore, Carter County, Oklahoma, on April 9, 1929. He is interred at Rose Hill Cemetery in Ardmore.

## Electoral history

1907 Oklahoma's 4th congressional district election{ :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter | 29,782 | 62.57 |
| | Republican | Loren G. Disney | 15,752 | 33.09 |
| | Socialist | J. T. Cumbie | 2,065 | 4.34 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 47,599 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic win (new seat) | Democratic win (new seat) | Democratic win (new seat) | Democratic win (new seat) |
1908 Oklahoma's 4th congressional district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 22,047 | 50.63 |
| | Republican | Benjamin F. Hackett | 15,727 | 36.12 |
| | Socialist | M. C. Carter | 5,769 | 13.25 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 43,543 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1910 Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 18,732 | 80.20% |
| | Democratic | Ben Bouldin | 4,625 | 19.80% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 23,357 | 100.0 |
1910 Oklahoma's 4th congressional district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 21,959 | 55.63% |
| | Republican | Charles M. Campbell | 11,979 | 30.35% |
| | Socialist | J. N. Gilmore | 5,534 | 14.02% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 39,472 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1912 Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter | 18,928 | 72.20% |
| | Democratic | R. H. Stanley | 5,716 | 21.80% |
| | Democratic | J. J. Parsons | 1,571 | 5.99% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 26,215 | 100.0 |
1912 Oklahoma's 4th congressional district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 23,987 | 51.33% |
| | Republican | E. N. Wright | 11,421 | 24.44% |
| | Socialist | Fred W. Holt | 11,321 | 24.23% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 46,729 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1914 Oklahoma's 4th congressional district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 17,274 | 50.02% |
| | Socialist | R. L. Norman | 10,588 | 30.66% |
| | Republican | C. H. Elting | 6,479 | 18.76% |
| | Progressive | Dudley B. Buell | 191 | 0.55% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 34,532 | 100.0 |
1916 Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 15,441 | 77.91% |
| | Democratic | R. L. Kidd | 4,378 | 22.09% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 19,818 | 100.0 |
1916 Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 21,182 | 55.12% |
| | Republican | Gratton C. McVay | 10,386 | 27.03% |
| | Socialist | H. M. Shelton | 6,862 | 17.86% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 38,430 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1918 Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 12,529 | 68.97% |
| | Democratic | Tom W. Neal | 5,637 | 31.03% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 18,166 | 100.0 |
1918 Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 15,635 | 66.79% |
| | Republican | H. J. Fowler | 6,982 | 27.03% |
| | Socialist | H. M. Shelton | 6,862 | 17.86% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 29,479 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1920 Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 33,344 | 53.99% |
| | Republican | James L. Shinaberger | 24,188 | 39.17% |
| | Socialist | Robert L. Allen | 4,227 | 6.84% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 61,759 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1922 Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 17,964 | 40.59% |
| | Democratic | J. B. Laughlin | 15,312 | 34.60% |
| | Democratic | Wilburn Cartwright | 10,983 | 24.82% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 44,259 | 100.0 |
1922 Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 44,964 | 74.18% |
| | Republican | Philas S. Jones | 15,022 | 24.78% |
| | Socialist | Manley L. Misenheimer | 632 | 1.04% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 60,618 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1924 Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 24,351 | 44.22% |
| | Democratic | Wilburn Cartwright | 17,205 | (31.24% |
| | Democratic | Joe D. Summit | 13,516 | 24.54% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 55,072 | 100.0 |
1924 Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 38,674 | 68.14% |
| | Republican | Don Welch | 15,425 | 27.18% |
| | Farmer–Labor | R. L. Thurmond | 2,659 | 4.69% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 56,759 | 100.00 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |
1926 Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Wilburn Cartwright | 16,670 | 41.22% |
| | Democratic | Charles D. Carter (incumbent) | 15,605 | 38.59% |
| | Democratic | Jess Harper | 8,168 | 20.20% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 40,443 | 100.0 |