Composite 6.17 / 10, weighted per the Constitutional Weight Schedule.
Below the 700 bar, Author's Verdict: not supported.
Lands in the Adequate band at credit 640, below the 700 support line, Author's Verdict: not supported. (See section 7 for the full reasoning.)
No military or uniformed service on record. Career path: New Orleans City Council, Louisiana House and State Senate (Senate Minority Leader), elected to the U.S. House in a May 2021 special election.
The 14 measures
Each measure is scored 0–10 against an anchored example, with a cited source. Hover/expand why? for the reasoning.
| # | Measure | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| M01 | Duty to Constitution & Rule of Law | 6 | why?No documented subversion of constitutional process. Carter was sworn in May 2021, after the December 2020 Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus and the January 6 certification, he could not have signed the amicus and there is no fake-elector or run-out-the-clock conduct on record. No criterion-8 capping conduct. Held at an honest middle: a solid but unremarkable record of operating within constitutional channels, without a documented high-cost defense of those channels against his own side that would lift it higher. [source] |
| M02 | Party Over Country | 5 | why?Mixed signal weighed honestly. Real cross-aisle work exists, the Offshore Parity Act co-introduced with Garret Graves (R-LA) and bipartisan appropriations/sickle-cell funding bills. But the Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index scored him below the median (negative BPI) in 2023, indicating his sponsorship/cosponsorship pattern leans within-party. Net middle: genuine bilateral instances, but not a top-quartile bridge-builder by the objective metric. [source] |
| M03 | Persons of Equal Worth | 7 | why?No documented pattern of casting opponents or constituents as enemies who do not belong; no anti-belonging slur or dehumanizing rhetoric on record. Conduct toward persons of equal worth is consistent with the office. Upper-middle for an unblemished but unexceptional record on this measure. [source] |
| M04 | Weaponization of Justice | 7 | why?No documented weaponization of state power against rivals, no abuse of investigative or oversight authority for personal or partisan retaliation. No criterion-class conduct. Clean middle-high. [source] |
| M05 | Incitement / Anti-Belonging | 7 | why?Rhetorical restraint on record; no documented incitement, no sustained enemy-making pattern, no heated line elevated to a finding. Speech conduct is measured and within institutional norms. Upper-middle. [source] |
| M06 | Fiduciary Conduct | 6 | why?No federal ethics finding or sanction against Carter personally. Two weighed appearance-concerns, neither a finding: (1) the Algiers Political Action Committee he founded in 2006 reportedly lapsed on state disclosure filings, a local-PAC compliance concern, not an office-enrichment breach; (2) a 2022 ethics complaint by a rival over his involvement in a local clerk race that alleged no specific legal violation. Resolved/unadjudicated allegations are weighed as appearance, not findings, modest drag to a middle score. [source] |
| M07 | Duty to Call Out | 5 | why?The active-duty standard is calling out one's OWN side at cost. The record shows cross-aisle legislative cooperation but no documented instance of Carter publicly confronting his own party or leadership at personal political cost. Honest middle: courteous and cooperative, but the higher accountability bar is not demonstrated. [source] |
| M08 | The Discretion Test | 6 | why?No documented abuse of discretionary office power for self-benefit; routine use of the seat's discretion without a standout sacrifice-of-advantage moment either way. Solid middle. [source] |
| M09 | The No-Camera Test | 6 | why?No documented private-versus-public contempt gap; off-camera reputation does not contradict the on-record posture. Absence of evidence of a gap, rather than affirmative evidence of perfect consistency, middle. [source] |
| M10 | Constituent-vs-Donor Vote | 6 | why?Documented constituent-facing work, New Orleans funding secures, infrastructure and flood advocacy, consistent with representing LA-02. No documented donor-over-constituent capture. Honest middle reflecting steady but not standout constituent fidelity. [source] |
| M11 | Net-Worth Trajectory | 7 | why?M11 scores ONLY office-attributable enrichment, self-dealing, family payments, office-information trades, foreign-government revenue. No such conduct is documented: no STOCK Act violation (he is not among the NOTUS-flagged members), no office-info trades, no foreign-government income on record. The pre-Congress Algiers property code-violation matter (2018) is personal and not office-driven and is not penalized here. No office-enrichment breach, upper-middle. [source] |
| M12 | Floor Decorum | 6 | why?Conducts himself with institutional decorum on the Energy & Commerce and Homeland Security committees; no documented spectacle-over-institution conduct. Steady middle, honors the institution without a distinguishing institutional-fidelity stand. [source] |
| M13 | Lying & Misleading | 7 | why?No sustained documented-falsehood pattern; statements track the public record without a flagged pattern of deception. Upper-middle for honesty conduct with no documented breach. [source] |
| M14 | Knowledge Depth | 6 | why?Substantive engagement on energy, coastal/Gulf, homeland-security and appropriations matters, authored/co-authored numerous measures as a former state Senate Minority Leader and in the House. Competent command of his portfolio without a standout mastery signal, solid middle. [source] |
Why not higher, the points withheld
The standard is the seat; the ceiling is a perfect 10. Every withheld point traces to documented conduct, weighed where the measures and attributes say it belongs, shown openly here, the same way the earned points are.
| Where | Documented conduct | Mitigation weighed |
|---|---|---|
| M02 | Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index 2023 scored Carter below the median (negative BPI ~ -0.81), indicating sponsorship/cosponsorship leans within-party despite some named bipartisan bills ↳ bipartisan bridge-building (objective metric) | Real cross-aisle instances exist, Offshore Parity Act with Garret Graves (R-LA), bipartisan appropriations and sickle-cell funding |
| M06 | Algiers Political Action Committee (founded by Carter 2006) reportedly lapsed on state disclosure filings; separately a 2022 rival ethics complaint over his involvement in a local clerk race ↳ Fiduciary appearance-of-impropriety | No federal finding or sanction; the complaint alleged no specific legal violation; PAC matter is local compliance, not office-enrichment, weighed as appearance, not a finding |
| M07 | No documented instance of publicly calling out his own party/leadership at personal political cost ↳ active-duty accountability (own-side call-out) | Cross-aisle cooperation is on record; absence of a high-cost own-side stand, not evidence of partisan misconduct |
| Pillar III | Below-median objective bipartisanship and no documented own-side accountability moment ↳ Reliability/Accountability drag | Genuine constituent service and named bipartisan bills temper the drag |
| Pillar IV | Local-PAC disclosure lapse and unadjudicated ethics complaint sit as asterisks on the legacy ↳ Integrity appearance-drag | No federal finding; both are appearance-concerns, not breaches |
The Four Pillars, worthy to be followed?
A separate axis from the 14 measures. The measures ask did their conduct meet the standard; the Pillars ask is this someone worthy to be elevated and followed at all. The two can diverge, when they do, the divergence is the finding.
| # | Pillar | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Trust & Loyalty
| 6 | why?Attributes: Steadiness, Selfless Service, Loyalty to office. A consistent, in-channel officeholder with no documented breach of duty and no documented disloyalty to the constitutional order; held at a solid middle by the absence of a distinguishing high-cost stand for the oath. |
| II | Aspiration & Integrity
| 6 | why?Attributes: Conviction, Authenticity. No documented integrity breach; no flagged falsehood pattern. The unadjudicated local-PAC disclosure lapse and a dismissed-by-implication complaint are appearance-asterisks that keep this at a middle rather than a high. |
| III | Protection & Influence
| 6 | why?Attributes: Protection, Stewardship, Accountability. Genuine constituent and appropriations work; no documented exploitation of power. Held at middle by below-median objective bipartisanship and no documented own-side accountability moment. |
| IV | Legacy & Virtue
| 6 | why?Attributes: Integrity, Justice. A clean-but-unremarkable institutional record; the appearance-concerns temper without erasing. Middle, a record neither distinguished nor disqualified on conduct. |
| TOTAL: Moderate | 24/40 |
Total 24/40, Adequate. An honest middle across all four: a competent, in-bounds officeholder with no criterion-class conduct and no standout sacrifice for the oath. The drags are appearance-concerns, not findings.
What the Four Pillars are & the questions behind each →
In their own words
“I will continue to fight for the people of Louisiana's 2nd District and for accountability in our institutions.”
Calling for a DOJ pattern-or-practice probe into Louisiana State Police misconduct · Representative Troy Carter press release · CIVIC · cite
“This bipartisan legislation expands Louisiana's authority in the Gulf and delivers for our state.”
On the Offshore Parity Act co-introduced with Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) · Representative Troy Carter press release · PRINCIPLED · cite
Full personnel file
1. Identity
Troy Anthony Carter Sr. (born 1963). U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District (Democrat) since a May 2021 special election. Prior service: New Orleans City Council, the Louisiana House of Representatives, and the Louisiana State Senate (7th District), where he served as Senate Minority Leader. Serves on the House Energy & Commerce and Homeland Security committees in the 119th Congress.
2. Voting / Legislative Profile
Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index 2023: below median (negative BPI ~ -0.81), indicating a within-party-leaning sponsorship pattern despite named bipartisan products. Signature bipartisan work: the Offshore Parity Act co-introduced with Garret Graves (R-LA) expanding Gulf state authority; support for bipartisan appropriations packages and sickle-cell research funding. Committee focus: energy, coastal/Gulf, and homeland security. Policy positions are NOT scored here in either direction, per the framework's refusal to grade contested policy.
3. Constitutional Moments
Sworn in May 2021, after the December 2020 Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus and the January 6, 2021 certification, so neither the amicus nor a Jan-6 objection is on his record by construction. No documented process-subversion conduct. Operates within constitutional channels; no documented high-cost institutional stand against his own side that would distinguish the record upward.
4. Rhetoric & Discourse Profile
Measured public rhetoric with no documented enemy-making pattern, no incitement, and no anti-belonging slur on record. No single heated line is elevated to a finding. Net: within institutional norms, neither a distinguishing high-mark of civic generosity nor a documented drag.
5. Fiduciary Profile
No federal ethics finding or sanction against Carter personally; no STOCK Act violation on record (not among the NOTUS-flagged members). Two weighed appearance-concerns, neither a finding: the Algiers Political Action Committee he founded in 2006 reportedly lapsed on state disclosure filings (local compliance, not office-enrichment), and a 2022 rival ethics complaint over his involvement in a local clerk race that alleged no specific legal violation. A pre-Congress (2018) personal property code-violation matter is personal, not office-attributable, and is not scored. No office-driven enrichment documented.
6. Severity-Class Conduct
No documented Severity-class conduct under any of the eight criteria. Carter took office after December 2020, so he is not a Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus signatory and has no fake-elector or run-out-the-clock conduct on record, no criterion-8 capping. No documented sustained enemy-making or incitement pattern, no criterion-10 capping. Flag count: zero.
7. What The Framework Says
An honest middle. Troy Carter scores as a competent, in-bounds officeholder: no criterion-class conduct, no ethics finding, real but below-median bipartisan output, and no documented high-cost stand for the oath that would lift the record. The drags counted are appearance-concerns, a local-PAC disclosure lapse and an unadjudicated complaint, not breaches. Adequate: neither distinguished nor disqualified on conduct.
8. Sources & Where To Look Deeper
Tier 1 (primary): Congress.gov member profile · U.S. House Clerk, member financial disclosures
Tier 2: Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index · Ballotpedia · OpenSecrets
Research links: Congress.gov member profile · Ballotpedia · House financial disclosures (Clerk) · OpenSecrets · GovTrack · Wikipedia
Scores derive from the fixed Constitutional Weight Schedule. The bar does not move. Conduct, not party.