About halfway through the press conference on his spreading cancer last week, Jimmy Carter let slip an important tidbit about the grandson who sought to follow in his footsteps.
Up until that point, little specifics were known about Jason Carter's plans after his defeat to Gov. Nathan Deal, aside from his return to law practice and the mysterious political action committee he formed.
The former president, though, revealed that his grandson was named the new chairman of the Carter Center's board of trustees back in March. The news was supposed to be under wraps until later this year, but the ex-president's declining health sped up the roll out.
With it will come a high-profile platform on the international stage. His grandfather has logged millions of miles through the Carter Center on peace-keeping, disease-fighting, electoral-monitoring and democracy-building journeys around the globe, and the younger Carter would become one of the leading voices - if not the face - of the organization when he takes the post in November.
Already, Jason Carter seems poised to take on that task. After his grandfather's press conference, he took on the role of the family's de facto spokesman, conducting round after round of interviews with TV newscasters and ink-stained newspaper types.
Here's what he had to say about succeeding his grandfather, who he said would move on to "emeritus" status:
"I have no intention of trying to fill his shoes. One of the great aspects of his legacy is that the Carter Center is in such a good position financially, it has an incredible collection of global experts on both health and peace, it has a track record of real expertise that's going to allow it to continue on. It's in good financial shape, and stewarding that along with the other trustees is a part of what we're going to do. But this is his legacy that he has built. And I have no intention of trying to be Jimmy Carter to this organization. We're going to build on the incredible foundation that already exists here."
The younger Carter, a former state senator, also made clear he hasn't ruled out another run for office, say, in 2018. He's kept busy on the rubber-chicken circuit, shaking hands and breaking bread at political gatherings across the state.
But unlike his previous run, when Democrats cleared the field for him, he can expect a likely intraparty rival were he to mount another campaign. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams are among the Democrats keeping an eye on the race.
Jason Carter dropped a strong hint or two about his future a day after his grandfather opened up to reporters while in Statesboro to address Bulloch County Democrats. Here's what he told the Statesboro Herald about his next step before a Friday night speech:
Those things include "doing right by education," improving ethics in government, and "making sure that we've got an economy that works for everybody," he said.
"Those issues, to me, are still facing the state, so I certainly wouldn't rule it out, but I can't tell you for sure," Carter said.
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