Troy Carter wins House special election in Louisiana David Weigel Louisiana state Sen. Troy Carter won a special election Saturday to replace White House adviser Cedric L. Richmond in Congress, defeating a challenger backed by much of the Democratic Party’s left and expanding the party’s narrow majority in the House. Carter held a steady lead as votes were counted in a runoff with state Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, a former chair of the Louisiana Democratic Party. The Associated Press projected Carter as the victor less than three hours after polls closed. Carter will take office once the election is certified, giving Democrats 219 seats in the House, with three more Democratic vacancies to be filled by special elections this year.