<< Back 11/6/02 Queen, Rapp beat incumbents SMN With unofficial returns in late Tuesday, it appeared that Democrats had upset two incumbent for seats in the state legislature. Political newcomer Joe Sam Queen of Waynesville beat five-term House incumbent Greg Thompson of Mitchell County for the newly created 47th Senate sea. Also, Mars Hill Mayor Ray Rapp apparently upset Rep. Marge Carpenter of Waynesville. All returns are still unofficial. “I’m headed down in the morning to a Senate caucus at the legislative building in Raleigh,” said a smiling Queen after it appeared he had won the seat. “Now, I think I’ll go home and watch the national returns on television.” Queen said the support of the local and state Democratic Party played a key role in his win, as did a huge margin of victory in his home county that included support from many Republicans. “The Haywood County supporters came out in droves,” said Queen. Rapp said he is excited about getting to work and using the time before the session starts to meet with leaders in the three-county 118th District to find out what they need from Raleigh. “I also want to meet with my teammates from the mountains so we can formulate plans for helping the western part of the state,” said Rapp. Queen and Rapp have overlapping districts, and both said running as a team helped propel them to wins. In other state races, GOP Sen. Bob Carpenter of Franklin beat incumbent Sen. Dan Robinson of Cullowhee in an usual race that pitted two incumbents against each other. Rep. Phil Haire of Sylva also defeated political novice Kaye Matthews of Maggie Valley to win his third term in the state House. Statewide and national news agencies were calling Elizabeth Dole the winner for the hotly contested Senate seat in North Carolina that has been held by Jesse Helms and the Republican Party for 30 years. Dole led Democratic challenger Erskine Bowles by a 54-45 percent margin in a race that had drawn national interest and heavy spending. Dole is a former Red Cross chief and Cabinet secretary under two Republican presidents. In Western North Carolina, six-term Republican Rep. Charles Taylor appeared headed for a relatively easy win over challenger Sam Neill. Taylor, a banker and landowner, and Neill, a Hendersonville attorney, ran a relatively subdued race that attracted little attention compared to their bitter 2000 campaign. Voter turnout appeared relatively heavy despite bad weather.