Hugh Carter

Hugh Alton Carter Sr. (August 13, 1920 – June 24, 1999) was an American politician and businessman from Georgia.

Born in Plains, Georgia, Carter served in World War II as a United States Army lieutenant seeing combat in Europe. After the war, Carter remained in the reserves and retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1964. Carter graduated from Georgia Southwestern State University, when the college was a two-year college and then from the University of Georgia.

Carter served seven terms (14 years) in the Georgia State Senate, from 1967 until 1981.He represented District 14, and succeeded his first cousin President Jimmy Carter in that post. He represented eight Georgia rural counties, and served as chairman of the Senate Education Committee and was a senior member of the Appropriations, Rules and Fiscal Affairs Committees.

Carter owned a bait shop and a general (later antique) store. In 1949, Carter started a third business growing fish bait. Originally limited to crickets, he later expanded into worms. By the mid-1950s, Carter was selling worms nationwide and laying claim to the title of "the world's largest worm farmer", producing more than 60 million a year. Carter wrote six pamphlets on worm and cricket farming, the best seller in 1958 was 18 Secrets of Successful Worm RaisingThe pamphlet originally sold for $1.00. When Carter raised the price to $2.95 sales grew even faster. In 1978, he wrote a book: Cousin Beedie and Cousin Hot: My life with the Carter Family from Plains, Georgia. The book drew the wrath of aunt Lillian Carter and cousin Billy Carter. In the book, he had referred to the President's mother as "domineering", while offering his opinion of Presidential brother, Billy: "He's not a redneck, but can make money as a redneck". Shortly after the book's publication, Carter drew a political opponent. Peanut farmer Malcolm "Chicken" Wishard, was backed by Hugh Carter's aggrieved aunt Lillian and cousin Billy. However, Wishard's campaign slogan "Help the Chicken take the Worm", failed to inspire voters, and Carter was re-elected to another term in the State Senate.

Carter retired from the State Senate in 1981. His bait growing business suffered declining sales in the 1990s, and he closed it in 1996. At the age of 78, Hugh Carter died in Americus, Georgia on June 24, 1999.