The 37-year-old currently represents Oklahoma's Second District, which encompasses the eastern part of the state, outside of Tulsa, including Indian Territory and Little Dixie, a mostly poor, rural area with a strong Democratic tradition. In the House, Carson sat on the Resources and Transportation committees and joined the Blue Dogs, a group of fiscally conservative House Democrats who tend to vote together as a coalition on budgetary and economic issues. He also joined the New Democrat Coalition, an outgrowth of President Clinton's progressive Democratic Leadership Council.

As the only Democrat in the state's congressional delegation, Carson's conservative voting record includes votes to support gun rights, the death penalty and the war in Iraq.

Carson is a sixth-generation Oklahoman, whose mother's Cherokee ancestors were forced west on the Trail of Tears in 1830, and settled in the county that came to bear their name - Adair.

An Eagle Scout and top student at Jenks High School, Carson won a National Merit Scholarship to attend the Baptist Baylor University and went on to become a Rhodes Scholar. With the Rhodes, Carson traveled to Oxford and earned a master's degree in politics, philosophy and economics. After England, he went to the University of Oklahoma law school. His pro-bono work representing poor and indigent clients earned him the 1996 Exceptional Contribution to Legal Services Award by Legal Services of Eastern Oklahoma.

In 1997, Carson went to Washington as a White House Fellow. He worked for the Pentagon as an aide to Defense Secretary William Cohen and traveled to many bases in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Bosnia, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

He then returned to Oklahoma to work for a Tulsa law firm and prepare for a political career.

His chance came when, ironically, his current opponent, Tom Coburn kept a promise made when he was elected to retire after three terms. After winning the Democratic primary, Carson squared off with fellow political novice Andy Ewing. Ewing tried to paint Carson as a Tulsa outsider and a political opportunist, but Carson was able to cast himself as a moderate with fresh ideas.

Health care emerged as a key issue. Ewing proposed to help seniors with drug costs by stimulating competition among pharmaceutical companies, while Carson called for adding a prescription drug benefit for all Medicare beneficiaries. Carson won by a 55 percent to 42 percent margin.
Health care continues to be one of Carson's key issues. He is a member of the Democratic Health Care Taskforce, has introduced legislation to improve the quality of nursing homes and supports Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's proposal to allow Americans to buy into the congressional health plan. He also supports allowing people to re-import cheaper drugs from Canada.
As vice chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, Carson introduced the Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations Claims Settlement Act, and the Native American Museum and Cultural Center authorization, which were signed into law in 2002. The settlement act provided compensation to the Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations for land and resources taken from them along the Arkansas Riverbed.
In 2002, the United States Junior Chamber (Jaycees) said Carson was one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans, an award recognizing leadership and service.

In that same year, Carson wrote a book review in the September Weekly Standard article, in which he dismissed Al Gore's "people versus the powerful" theme as unpersuasive and described a "gap between the image and the reality of the Democratic party."

"We must look for the roots of our emerging political crisis not primarily in race and class, but in culture," he wrote.

Carson was reelected to office in November 2002 with 74 percent of the vote, the second highest margin in the history of the 2nd District.

Carson's wife Julie is a fellow lawyer who worked for MCI-WorldCom. According to his Senate campaign Web site, "They hope to start a family soon!"

In the Almanac of American Politics, Michael Barone writes that Carson "has the look and heft of a politician who is heading toward statewide office -- and perhaps beyond."