TAMPA, Fla. —  Short of ever meeting President Jimmy Carter, former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn has a unique milestone with him.

Jimmy Carter was Buckhorn’s very first vote as an 18-year-old back in 1976.

Carter narrowly defeated Republican Gerald Ford to win the White House, which ended in a one-term presidency.

The Georgia Democrat and 39th president died Dec. 29 at the age of 100.

Buckhorn says despite President Carter’s accomplishments while in office, it was his post-presidency that truly defined the man, and set a precedent for future President’s leaving office.

“He was an amazing guy once he left the White House. Now that doesn’t overshadow all of his compliments, but he became a global citizen, a global leader,” Buckhorn said. “Somebody who did public service for the right reasons. Not to make money or enrich themselves, not to sell books or give speeches, but to try to improve humanity. And he certainly did that.”

The flag-draped casket of former President Jimmy Carter lies in state during a ceremony in the Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Washington. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)

Carter’s remains, which had been lying in repose at the Carter Presidential Center since Saturday, left the Atlanta campus Tuesday morning, accompanied by his children and extended family. Special Air Mission 39 departed Dobbins Air Reserve Base north of Atlanta and arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. A motorcade carried the casket into Washington for a final journey to the Capitol, where members of Congress paid their respects.

Carter will receive a state funeral Thursday at Washington National Cathedral. President Joe Biden will deliver a eulogy.

After the funeral, the Boeing 747 that is Air Force One when a sitting president is aboard will carry Carter and his family back to Georgia. An invitation-only funeral will be held at Maranatha Baptist Church in tiny Plains, Georgia, where Carter taught Sunday School for decades after leaving office.

Carter will be buried next to his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, in a plot near the home they built before his first state Senate campaign in 1962 and where they lived out their lives with the exception of four years in the Georgia Governor's Mansion and four years in the White House.