Mel Carnahan

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Melvin Eugene Carnahan (February 11, 1934, Birch Tree, Missouri – October 17, 2000, Goldman, Missouri) was an American politician who was Governor (D) of Missouri from 1993 to 2000. He died in a plane crash on the Pevely and Hillsboro, Missouri, border during a campaign for the U.S. Senate, after which he was elected posthumously to the office.

[edit] Family Life and education

Carnahan was born in Birch Tree, Missouri. His father was A.S.J. Carnahan, was 8th District Congressman from Missouri for eight terms. His only sibling, Robert Carnahan, was president of the Missouri Association of Realtors.

Mel Carnahan graduated from high school in Washington, D.C., and earned a BA in business administration from George Washington University. He entered the United States Air Force, rising ultimately to first lieutenant, and served as a special agent for the Office of Special Investigation. He received a J.D. degree from the University of Missouri–Columbia School of Law in Columbia, Missouri, in 1959.

Carnahan married Jean Carpenter in Washington, D.C. on June 12, 1954. They had four children: Russ Carnahan, a member of the United States House of Representatives; Tom Carnahan, a real estate developer; Robin Carnahan, who was elected in 2004 as Missouri Secretary of State; and Roger "Randy" Carnahan, who piloted the plane on the fateful day, and perished along with his father.

[edit] Political career

Carnahan's political career started as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives representing the Rolla area. In 1980, Carnahan was elected Missouri State Treasurer. He served in that post from 1981 to 1985. In 1984 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Missouri, losing the primary election to fellow Democrat Kenneth Rothman.

In 1988 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Missouri. In 1992, he faced Saint Louis mayor Vincent C. Schoemehl in the Democratic primary for governor. He won the Democratic nomination and went on to defeat Republican William L. Webster in the general election. He was elected as Governor of Missouri on November 3, 1992 and re-elected for a second term on November 5, 1996, defeating Republican Margaret Kelly. In 1999, his covert opposition to Proposition B outweighed his pledge to remain neutral.

[edit] 2000 Senate Election and Death

In 2000, Mel Carnahan ran for U.S. Senate, opposing the incumbent Republican, John Ashcroft. It was a heated, intense campaign in which Carnahan traveled all over the state to garner support in what was a very close race. Early on October 17, 2000, just three weeks before the election and the night before a presidential debate to be held in St. Louis at Washington University, a twin-engine Cessna airplane piloted by the Governor's son, Randy, crashed on a heavily forested hillside during a rainstorm and foggy conditions near Goldman, Missouri, about 35 miles south of St. Louis. All three occupants of the plane — Governor Carnahan, his son Randy, and Chris Sifford, campaign advisor and former chief of staff to the governor — died in the crash. Carnahan preceded Senator Paul Wellstone and followed Richard D. Obenshain in dying in plane crashes during Senate campaigns (in 2002 and 1978 respectively).

Shortly afterwards, Lieutenant Governor Roger B. Wilson succeeded Mel Carnahan to fill the Governor's office until January 2001. Because Missouri election law would not allow for Mel Carnahan's name to be removed from the November 7, 2000 ballot, Jean Carnahan, his widow, became the Democratic candidate unofficially. Governor Wilson promised to appoint her to the senate seat if vacant as a result of Mr. Carnahan being elected, and the campaign continued using the slogan "I'm Still With Mel". A Senate first, the deceased Carnahan won by a narrow margin of 48,000 votes. Mrs. Carnahan was then appointed to the Senate and served until, in a special election in November 2002, she was narrowly defeated by James Talent, a Republican.

[edit] References

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• Missouri State Treasurer-Past Treasurer's Biography

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