He served as Lubbock assistant district attorney in 1947-48 and then Lubbock County attorney from 1949 till 1951. In 1951 he became a member of the
Texas House of Representatives, serving until 1961. During his tenure he was Speaker of the House from 1957 to 1961. Carr was scheduled to give a speech in
Dumas that day but owing to the assassination he had to cancel it and flew to Austin in case his assistance was needed. He travelled to Washington to attend
Kennedy's funeral and while here communicated his willingness to convene a court of inquiry about the "Oswald case". President
Lyndon B. Johnson's aide
Cliff Carter told the president that such an inquiry "could be used to clear up any question about the Oswald case in Dallas. He [Carr] said the FBI could conduct this hearing through him in any manner they cared to to complete the record on Oswald". Johnson thought this was a good idea, but suggested that Carr should announce the inquiry without any mention of White House requests. Ultimately the inquiry never occurred as Johnson decided to convene a
presidential commission, that would later be known as the
Warren Commission, to produce a report on the assassination. On 8 June 1964 he testified before the Commission. In 1966 he unsuccessfully challenged the incumbent Republican
John Tower for a seat in the US Senate. Carr died in February 2004 from cancer. ==References==