US Rep. John Carter, a Republican, runs for 12th term against Democrat Stuart Whitlow

U.S. Rep. John Carter, an 82-year-old Republican, has held the 31st District congressional seat in Texas since he was elected in 2002, a year after the district was created. But his Democratic opponent this year, 68-year-old Stuart Whitlow, said he thinks he has a "good" chance to win the seat.

Why? Whitlow said part of the reason is because of Carter's age. Another reason is that Carter missed more than 125 House votes during this year's congressional session, Whitlow said. "I just don't think he's able to do the job right now," said Whitlow, a retired litigation lawyer who also worked for Texas Legal Aid Services.

Carter said he was sick for a few days, and that's why he missed the votes. "Unfortunately, I got COVID," said Carter. "I followed the doctor's orders and missed a couple of days of amendment votes, where we did about 50 votes each day." He also said he's able to do the job well. "I've passed legislation into law under every president I've served, so it doesn't matter what the political environment is."

District 31 includes part of Williamson County and part of Bell County. It also includes all of Bosque, Burnet, Coryell and Hamilton counties. In Williamson County, the district includes all of Georgetown, Liberty Hill, Jarrell, Florence and Granger. It also includes parts of Cedar Park, Round Rock, Hutto and Leander,

The winner of the election will serve a two-year term.

Whitlow said he grew up in Round Rock and now lives in Cedar Park. He said he tried cases before Carter when Carter was a district judge in Williamson County. Carter served as a judge from 1981 to 2001.

"I always felt like I got a pretty fair hearing with him," said Whitlow. "But when he voted to decertify the vote for (President-elect Joe) Biden on Jan. 6, 2021, that really got my attention."

Whitlow, who is pro-choice, said voters in the district are concerned about restrictions on abortion in Texas making it dangerous for a woman to be pregnant and to have problems with the pregnancy. According to Texas law, abortions are illegal unless patients face "a life-threatening condition" that places them at risk of death or "at serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function."

More: U.S. House District 31: John Carter defeats Donna Imam

Voters also have said they are concerned about not having enough water for the future, especially in the Belton area, he said. Another issue for voters is gun violence, he said.

Carter said constituents' concerns "all surround around security."

"They're not better off than they were four years ago," he said. "They feel uneasy in the Biden-Harris economy. They don't feel safe with open borders. They don't feel secure with wars breaking out around the globe because of weak Democrat leadership."

More: Was John Carter the first elected Republican in Williamson County?

Whitlow said inflation is a problem. "It may be because of price gouging and companies taking advantage of the situation to make more profit," he said. "I think we need to investigate more to see what the situation is whether this is the case or not."

The district also struggles with having enough doctors and hospitals in its rural areas, he said.

Carter said the one of the biggest challenges facing the district is growth.

"I regularly meet with local leaders in TX-31 and hear about access to water, traffic congestion, and housing," he said in an email. "That's why I'm so focused on returning federal dollars to our community as a chairman on the Appropriations Committee."

If elected, Whitlow said one of his goals is to address immigration issues at the Mexican border. Congressional Republicans blocked a border security bill in May that could have helped, he said, by sending more border guards to the area and providing more judges to help remove a backlog of asylum cases.

He also said he wants to work on protecting women's reproductive rights. "A (pregnant) women shouldn't have to be on a deathbed to get medical care," he said.

Carter said that as chairman of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, he's "heavily focused on caring for our veterans and ensuring our military has the resources they need to stay safe and effectively protect the homeland."

"I'm focused on securing resources for infrastructure improvements and public safety initiatives in TX-31. I also want to get HR 2, the Secure the Border Act, which I co-authored, signed into law to shut down the Biden-Harris open borders."

The secure the border act that Carter co-authored in 2023 was not the same one that was defeated in May.

Whitlow said he is the best candidate for the office because his work experience and service to the community have prepared him to serve him in Congress.

Whitlow said he worked as an intern for the late Democratic U.S. Rep. J.J. "Jake" Pickle" on Capitol Hill while he was a student at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. In his 30-year-career as a lawyer, including handling personal injury and fraud cases, Whitlow said he had plenty of experience negotiatingwhich is an important skill to have in Congress. He also helped start a successful nonprofit job training program called Capital IDEA in Travis County that he later got expanded to Williamson County, Whitlow said.

Carter said he is the best candidate because he has a track record of delivering results.

"In the last year, I brought $73 million back to Texas' 31st District to improve infrastructure, create water storage and treatment facilities, provide equipment to local law enforcement, and increase STEM training to meet the job market demands," he said.