Joel R. Carter Jr. (born August 8, 1978) is an American politician and insurance representative who has served in the Mississippi State Senate from the 49th district since 2018.

[1][2] Carter was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and attended Gulfport High School.

[1] Carter chairs the Mississippi Senate Energy Committee and is a member of the Corrections, Finance, Highways, and Transportation, Investigate State Offices, Labor, Ports and Marine Resources, and Tourism Senate Committees.

[2] As a member of the state senate, he has pushed for a TikTok ban on state-owned devices.

In February 2023, shortly after the Chinese government balloon incident, Carter was criticized for his racism after he posted a photo online of a balloon with words written on it that mock a stereotypical accent of Chinese American and Asian American people.