By Pamela Gentry
BET News Senior Political Producer
Pamela’s Blog

Black lawmakers will be welcoming a familiar face to Washington when the grandson of the late Indiana congresswoman Julia Carson (D) joins their ranks.  The victory will keep the seat on the Democratic side of the aisle and adds another super delegate to the presidential mix.

Andre Carson, 33, won the seat Tuesday in a special election beating out his Republican opponent, state Rep. John Elrod.  Carson won the contest with about 55 percent of the vote to Elrod’s 44 percent.

Carson, the second Muslim ever elected to Congress, will represent the Indianapolis district for the remaining 10 months of his grandmother’s term.  ‘Miss Julia” as she was affectingly called by her constituents died December 15 of cancer.  

“We did it! We did it! Thank God we did it,” he said to a roaring crowd that packed the downtown hotel ballroom. “I want to thank each and every one of you for your sacrifice, hard work and efforts. This isn’t about me. It’s about you. I’m not going to Congress. We’re going to Congress,” he told cheering supporters in the Westin Hotel ballroom in downtown Indianapolis.

With the win Carson will now find himself beginning the next campaign in 55 days to ready himself for the May primary, followed by the November general election to win a full term in Congress and continue his grandmother’s legacy.

“The battle’s not over,” Carson told supporters following his victory.  “Friends and family, we have to hit the ground running,” he said.

This win is only the second in Carson’s political career; he won his first election last year to the City-County Council.  He called his victory an “extremely humbling experience.”