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Carte Patrick Goodwin (born February 27, 1974) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia in 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed by Governor Joe Manchin on July 16, 2010 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Robert Byrd. He chose not to seek election to finish Byrd’s unexpired term. Goodwin left office on November 15, 2010 when Manchin was sworn in after being elected to the Senate.
Prior to his appointment as a United States senator, Goodwin served as Manchin's chief counsel. In 2008, he was named one of the "Ten Most Successful Young Executives in West Virginia" by Executive magazine. In 2010, Time named him one of the rising stars of American politics under 40, in their list of "40 under 40". After leaving the Senate, Goodwin joined the law firm of Frost Brown Todd. From 2011 to 2021, Goodwin served as a commissioner on the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Goodwin graduated from Ripley High School in 1992, and graduated magna cum laude from Marietta College in 1996 where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy. In 1999 Goodwin earned his Juris Doctor from Emory University School of Law, graduating a member of the Order of the Coif.
In 2004, Goodwin worked on then-Secretary of State Joe Manchin's successful campaign for governor. Goodwin was appointed chairman of the West Virginia School Building Authority by Manchin and later served as his chief counsel, from 2005 to 2009. As the governor's counsel, Goodwin assisted in the drafting of Coal mining rescue and security measures, sparked by fatal accidents in the Aracoma and Sago Mines. In June 2009, Manchin appointed Goodwin chairman of the Independent Commission on Judicial Reform, which studied the need for changes in the judicial system in West Virginia.
In 2011, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appointed Goodwin to a two-year term as a commissioner of the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a position to which he was re-appointed until 2021. He was reappointed in 2023.
Goodwin was sworn into the Senate on July 20, 2010, and quickly joined with fellow Democrats to pass an extension of unemployment benefits, an effort they previously were unable to pass due to a Republican filibuster. He voted to confirm Elena Kagan as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Goodwin's term expired on November 15, 2010, when Manchin was sworn in as a U.S. senator. During his short tenure, Goodwin served on the following committees:
In 2021, U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Bruce King announced plans to assume senior status, but later rescinded those plans. Reports indicated that King preferred to have Goodwin, his former clerk, replace him and was displeased that the White House had a different potential nominee in mind.
After leaving the Senate, Goodwin joined the law firm of Frost Brown Todd, where he has served as member-in-charge for their Charleston, West Virginia, office and vice chair for the firm's national Appellate Practice Group. Carte P. Goodwin - Frost Brown Todd As of June 2023, Goodwin remains a partner at the firm.
Goodwin's cousin, Booth Goodwin, was appointed United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia by President Barack Obama.
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