At first, Carter ran for the Georgia's 3rd congressional district in 1966 against Bo Callaway. However, Callaway dropped out and decided to run for Governor of Georgia instead. Callaway had just switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in 1964. Carter later decided to run for governor himself. In the Democratic primary, he unsuccessfully ran against the liberal former governor Ellis Arnall and the conservative segregationist Lester Maddox.