Carr edges out Tipps in Rutherford County

In Rutherford County, state house district 48 turned from Democratic to Republican control.

Republican Joe Carr edged out Tim Tipps in the race for the former seat of Democrat John Hood.

Carr lost to Hood in a race for the same seat two years ago. He says he’s pleased the win this year helps Republican gains in the state house.

“I think it’s perfect. There’s nothing I would like better than to be the 50th Republican house seat, because the goal once I started this three years ago was to take the gavel out of Speaker Naifeh’s hand.”

Carr, a 50-year-old businessman, won by a margin of roughly 2 percent. Democrats had held the seat for decades.