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Melvin Eugene Carnahan
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51st Governor of Missouri
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| In office January 1993 – October 17, 2000 |
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| Lieutenant | Roger B. Wilson |
| Preceded by | John Ashcroft |
| Succeeded by | Roger B. Wilson |
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| In office 1989 – 1993 |
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| Governor | John Ashcroft |
| Preceded by | Harriett Woods |
| Succeeded by | Roger B. Wilson |
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| In office 1981 – 1985 |
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| Preceded by | Jim Spainhower |
| Succeeded by | Wendell Bailey |
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Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
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| In office 1963 – 1967 |
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| Born | February 11, 1934 Birch Tree, Missouri, USA |
| Died | October 17, 2000 (aged 66) Goldman, Missouri, USA |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Jean Carnahan |
| Alma mater | George Washington University (B.A.) University of Missouri-Columbia (J.D.) |
| Profession | lawyer |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Air Force |
| Rank |  First Lieutenant |
Melvin Eugene Carnahan (February 11, 1934 – October 17, 2000) was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as governor 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.
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Family life and education
Carnahan was born in Birch Tree, Missouri. His father was A. S. J. Carnahan, who served eight terms in the United States House of Representatives as the Representative from Missouri's 8th congressional district. His only sibling, Robert Carnahan, was president of the Missouri Association of Realtors.
Carnahan graduated from high school in Washington, D.C., and earned a Bachelor of Arts 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. from the University of Missouri 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, founder of Wind Capital Group which builds wind farms; Robin Carnahan, who was elected in 2004 as Missouri Secretary of State; and Roger "Randy" Carnahan, who piloted the plane and perished in the same crash that killed his father.
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 Democratic primary election to then-Lieutenant Governor Kenneth Rothman, who lost the general election that year to state Attorney General John Ashcroft.
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 by a wide margin and went on to easily defeat Republican state Attorney General 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 state Auditor Margaret Kelly.
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 at Washington University in St. Louis, the 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.
Shortly afterward, 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's 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.
Carnahan is not the only candidate to have died during a U.S. Senate race in recent decades. Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota was killed in a plane crash in 2002, 11 days before his U.S. Senate election. Representative Jerry Litton, also of Missouri, died in a plane crash in 1976 on the day he was nominated by his party. Richard "Dick" Obenshain of Virginia died in a plane crash in 1978 shortly after receiving the Republican nomination.
Personal
Carnahan and his family were active members of the First Baptist Church of Rolla, where he served as an ordained deacon and member of the building committee. In 1984, he risked his political career by taking a public stand against Missouri ballot issues, Amendments 5 and 7, which would legalize parimutuel betting and create a state lottery. He was one of only a handful of state elected officials to take such a position; however, both amendments passed.
References
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Jim Spainhower |
State Treasurer of Missouri 1981–1985 |
Succeeded by Wendell Bailey |
| Preceded by Harriett Woods |
Lieutenant Governor of Missouri 1989–1993 |
Succeeded by Roger B. Wilson |
| Preceded by John Ashcroft |
Governor of Missouri 1993–2000 |
Succeeded by Roger B. Wilson |
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