Robin Carnahan
Encyclopedia
Robin Carnahan is an American politician, daughter of Missouri
politicians Mel
and Jean Carnahan
and the current Missouri Secretary of State. She is a member of the Democratic Party
and was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate
in 2010, to replace retiring Republican Sen. Kit Bond
.
, the only daughter in a family of 17 children. After graduating from Rolla High School
, she enrolled at William Jewell College
in Liberty, Missouri
, where she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree
in Economics
.
Carnahan continued her education at the University of Virginia School of Law
where she served as Executive Editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law before receiving her Juris Doctor
(J.D.) degree in 1986. She returned to Missouri and began practicing law with the St. Louis
law firm of Thompson & Mitchell
, where she focused on business and corporate law.
In 1990 Carnahan went to work in central Europe as part of a team from the National Democratic Institute
. In this role, she helped draft voting laws, train new political leaders and monitor elections in Hungary
and Czechoslovakia
. Since then, she has worked in six countries as part of the National Democratic Institute. Later, Carnahan served as an assistant to the chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States
.
Today, Carnahan still manages her family's farm and Angus cattle operation outside of Rolla, Missouri.
Catherine Hanaway
(R) in a close race. In 2005 she was named as one of 24 "rising stars" in American politics by the Aspen Institute
's Rodel Foundation, a leading nonpartisan think tank.
Coming into office, one of Carnahan’s priorities was to reduce red-tape for businesses. She was involved with efforts to expand more than 80% of business filings online and reducing expenses for paper filings. Cracking down on scam artists has been another priority. The Securities Division under her direction has taken the lead on a number of high profile cases, including a national settlement in August 2008 in which Wachovia Securities
agreed to repay over 40,000 investors who had nearly $9 billion frozen in auction-rate securities accounts.
Carnahan also has worked to increase access to public documents and information by expanding online availability of information through the Missouri State Archives and Missouri State Library. The award-winning Death Records and Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative projects have received over 23 million hits in the past year.
In 2008, Carnahan worked with Missouri's local election authorities to ensure all eligible Missourians had access to the ballot box. She has been a strong advocate for early voting
, paper ballots and better training for Election Day poll workers.
In 2007, Carnahan served as Co-Chair of the Elections Committee of the National Association of Secretaries of State
and continues to serve on the Executive Committee, as well as Chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State. She has been called upon to testify on election matters before US House and Senate Committees.
In November 2008, Carnahan was reelected with nearly 62% of the vote by receiving over 1.7 million votes, the most votes ever cast for a candidate in Missouri history.
in 2010 to replace retiring U.S. Senator Kit Bond
, saying it's time to “stop the political bickering and start solving problems”. She was elected the Democratic nominee in the primary election held August 3, 2010.
In October, Carnahan was endorsed by the Kansas City Star, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
, and the St. Louis American
. However, Carnahan was handily defeated by Republican Roy Blunt in the election as part of a Republican wave of victories in the midterm.
for health care.
Carnahan said that she would not have voted for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, but would have voted for the 2009 stimulus bill because it “kept cops in the street, teachers in classrooms, and cut taxes for millions of Missourians.”
In March 2010, Carnahan called for a complete ban on earmarks. In September 2010, she proposed a 10 percent pay cut for Congress until the federal budget is balanced.
During a July 2010 campaign stop, Carnahan said she would work to ban Congress members from becoming lobbyists and would make information about meetings between lobbyists and Congress members available to the public.
. He served only one term before being defeated in 1946, but ran again in 1948 and won. Carnahan served in the House for six consecutive terms, but failed to win the Democratic Party's nomination for his own seat in 1960. In 1961, Carnahan was appointed by President John F. Kennedy as the first American ambassador to Sierra Leone; he retired from this post in 1963. Her father, Mel Carnahan
served in several offices and was Governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in 2000. Her mother, Jean Carnahan
served Missouri as a United States Senator when she was appointed to fill the seat Gov. Carnahan won posthumously.
Her brother Russ Carnahan
is a member of Congress and represents the southern portion of the St. Louis
Metropolitan Area. Her brother Tom Carnahan
is president of Wind Capital Group. Robin Carnahan is married to Juan Carlos Antolinez.
On February 27, 2006 Carnahan announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer
. She continued to serve as Secretary of State while undergoing treatment and her cancer is in remission.
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
politicians Mel
Mel Carnahan
Melvin Eugene "Mel" Carnahan was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as the 51st 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...
and Jean Carnahan
Jean Carnahan
Jean Anne Carpenter Carnahan is an American politician and writer who served in the United States Senate from 2001 to 2002. A Democrat, she was appointed to the Senate to fill the seat of her posthumously elected husband, becoming the first woman to represent Missouri in the Senate.-Biography:Born...
and the current Missouri Secretary of State. She is a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 2010, to replace retiring Republican Sen. Kit Bond
Kit Bond
Christopher Samuel "Kit" Bond is a former United States Senator from Missouri and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, he defeated Democrat Harriett Woods by a margin of 53%-47%. He was re-elected in 1992, 1998, and 2004...
.
Early life, education and career
Robin Carnahan grew up near Rolla, MissouriRolla, Missouri
Rolla is a city in Phelps County, Missouri, United States, midway between the larger cities of St. Louis and Springfield along I-44. The population in the 2010 United States Census was 19,559.It is the county seat of Phelps County...
, the only daughter in a family of 17 children. After graduating from Rolla High School
Rolla High School
Rolla Senior High School has a population of about 1050 students. The school's mascot is the Bulldog with the colors of maroon and silver...
, she enrolled at William Jewell College
William Jewell College
William Jewell College is a private, four-year liberal arts college of 1,100 undergraduate students located in Liberty, Missouri, U.S. It was founded in 1849 by members of the Missouri Baptist Convention and other civic leaders, including Robert S. James, a Baptist minister and father of the...
in Liberty, Missouri
Liberty, Missouri
Liberty is a city in Clay County, Missouri and is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. At the 2007 population estimate, the city population was 29,993...
, where she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
.
Carnahan continued her education at the University of Virginia School of Law
University of Virginia School of Law
The University of Virginia School of Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program...
where she served as Executive Editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law before receiving her Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
(J.D.) degree in 1986. She returned to Missouri and began practicing law with the St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
law firm of Thompson & Mitchell
Thompson Coburn
Thompson Coburn LLP is an "AmLaw 200" U.S. law firm. In 2010, the firm ranked second in the nation in "Midlevel Associates Survey" conducted by The American Lawyer.-Practice areas:...
, where she focused on business and corporate law.
In 1990 Carnahan went to work in central Europe as part of a team from the National Democratic Institute
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs is an organization created by the United States government by way of the National Endowment for Democracy to channel grants for furthering democracy in developing nations. It was founded in 1983, shortly after the U.S. Congress created...
. In this role, she helped draft voting laws, train new political leaders and monitor elections in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. Since then, she has worked in six countries as part of the National Democratic Institute. Later, Carnahan served as an assistant to the chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States
Export-Import Bank of the United States
The Export-Import Bank of the United States is the official export credit agency of the United States federal government. It was established in 1934 by an executive order, and made an independent agency in the Executive branch by Congress in 1945, for the purposes of financing and insuring...
.
Today, Carnahan still manages her family's farm and Angus cattle operation outside of Rolla, Missouri.
Missouri Secretary of State
On November 2, 2004, Robin Carnahan was elected as Missouri's 38th Secretary of State. In her first bid for elected office, she defeated then-Speaker of the Missouri House of RepresentativesMissouri House of Representatives
The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 31,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections held in even-numbered years.In 1992 Missouri...
Catherine Hanaway
Catherine Hanaway
Catherine L. Hanaway was the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, having been appointed by President Bush. She is also a former Republican Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives...
(R) in a close race. In 2005 she was named as one of 24 "rising stars" in American politics by the Aspen Institute
Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1950 as the Aspen Institute of Humanistic Studies. The organization is dedicated to "fostering enlightened leadership, the appreciation of timeless ideas and values, and open-minded dialogue on contemporary issues." The...
's Rodel Foundation, a leading nonpartisan think tank.
Coming into office, one of Carnahan’s priorities was to reduce red-tape for businesses. She was involved with efforts to expand more than 80% of business filings online and reducing expenses for paper filings. Cracking down on scam artists has been another priority. The Securities Division under her direction has taken the lead on a number of high profile cases, including a national settlement in August 2008 in which Wachovia Securities
Wachovia Securities
Wells Fargo Advisors, is a subsidiary of Wells Fargo, located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the second largest brokerage firm in the United States as of October 1, 2007 with $1.17 trillion retail client assets under management....
agreed to repay over 40,000 investors who had nearly $9 billion frozen in auction-rate securities accounts.
Carnahan also has worked to increase access to public documents and information by expanding online availability of information through the Missouri State Archives and Missouri State Library. The award-winning Death Records and Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative projects have received over 23 million hits in the past year.
In 2008, Carnahan worked with Missouri's local election authorities to ensure all eligible Missourians had access to the ballot box. She has been a strong advocate for early voting
Early voting
Early voting is the process by which electors can vote on a single or series of days prior to an election. Early voting can take place remotely, such as by mail, or in person, usually in designated early voting polling stations. The availability and time periods for early voting vary based on...
, paper ballots and better training for Election Day poll workers.
In 2007, Carnahan served as Co-Chair of the Elections Committee of the National Association of Secretaries of State
National Association of Secretaries of State
The National Association of Secretaries of State , founded in 1904, is the oldest non-partisan professional organization of public officials in the United States, composed of the Secretaries of State of U.S. states and territories. Currently, all secretaries of state, including Washington D.C.,...
and continues to serve on the Executive Committee, as well as Chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State. She has been called upon to testify on election matters before US House and Senate Committees.
In November 2008, Carnahan was reelected with nearly 62% of the vote by receiving over 1.7 million votes, the most votes ever cast for a candidate in Missouri history.
2010 U.S. Senate campaign
On February 3, 2009, Carnahan announced she would run for the United States SenateUnited States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 2010 to replace retiring U.S. Senator Kit Bond
Kit Bond
Christopher Samuel "Kit" Bond is a former United States Senator from Missouri and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, he defeated Democrat Harriett Woods by a margin of 53%-47%. He was re-elected in 1992, 1998, and 2004...
, saying it's time to “stop the political bickering and start solving problems”. She was elected the Democratic nominee in the primary election held August 3, 2010.
In October, Carnahan was endorsed by the Kansas City Star, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
, and the St. Louis American
St. Louis American
The St. Louis American is a weekly newspaper serving the African-American community of St. Louis, Missouri. The first issue appeared in March 1928. In 1930 the newspaper started a "Buy Where You Can Work" campaign. Donald Suggs along with two other investors purchased majority shares in the...
. However, Carnahan was handily defeated by Republican Roy Blunt in the election as part of a Republican wave of victories in the midterm.
Political positions
Carnahan said she would have voted for the Democrats' health care bill in the U.S. Senate and supports a public optionPublic health insurance option
The public health insurance option is a proposed government-run health insurance agency which competes with other health insurance companies. It is not the same as Publicly-funded health care. Called the public insurance option or public option, for short, it was a proposed health insurance plan...
for health care.
Carnahan said that she would not have voted for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, but would have voted for the 2009 stimulus bill because it “kept cops in the street, teachers in classrooms, and cut taxes for millions of Missourians.”
In March 2010, Carnahan called for a complete ban on earmarks. In September 2010, she proposed a 10 percent pay cut for Congress until the federal budget is balanced.
During a July 2010 campaign stop, Carnahan said she would work to ban Congress members from becoming lobbyists and would make information about meetings between lobbyists and Congress members available to the public.
Family legacy
Carnahan comes from a family that has been active in Missouri politics for several generations. Her grandfather, A.S.J. Carnahan Carnahan was elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat from south-central MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. He served only one term before being defeated in 1946, but ran again in 1948 and won. Carnahan served in the House for six consecutive terms, but failed to win the Democratic Party's nomination for his own seat in 1960. In 1961, Carnahan was appointed by President John F. Kennedy as the first American ambassador to Sierra Leone; he retired from this post in 1963. Her father, Mel Carnahan
Mel Carnahan
Melvin Eugene "Mel" Carnahan was an American politician. A Democrat, he served as the 51st 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...
served in several offices and was Governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in 2000. Her mother, Jean Carnahan
Jean Carnahan
Jean Anne Carpenter Carnahan is an American politician and writer who served in the United States Senate from 2001 to 2002. A Democrat, she was appointed to the Senate to fill the seat of her posthumously elected husband, becoming the first woman to represent Missouri in the Senate.-Biography:Born...
served Missouri as a United States Senator when she was appointed to fill the seat Gov. Carnahan won posthumously.
Her brother Russ Carnahan
Russ Carnahan
John Russell "Russ" Carnahan is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes the southern third of the city of St. Louis and most of the southern St. Louis suburbs including most of Jefferson County and all of Ste. Genevieve County...
is a member of Congress and represents the southern portion of the St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
Metropolitan Area. Her brother Tom Carnahan
Tom Carnahan
Tom Carnahan is the founder of Wind Capital Group, a privately owned builder and developer of wind farms in the Midwest and in 2008 produced the power for the first 100 per cent wind powered city in the United States....
is president of Wind Capital Group. Robin Carnahan is married to Juan Carlos Antolinez.
On February 27, 2006 Carnahan announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. She continued to serve as Secretary of State while undergoing treatment and her cancer is in remission.
Electoral history
External links
- Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan official Missouri government site
- Robin Carnahan for U.S. Senate official campaign site
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Missouri Digital Heritage