United States Senate election in Missouri, 2000
Encyclopedia
The 2000 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 7, 2000 to select the next Senator from Missouri
. Incumbent John Ashcroft
lost re-election to Mel Carnahan
.
(R) briefly considered running for president, but on January 5, 1999, he announced that he would not seek the presidency and would instead defend his Senate seat in his 2000 reelection. Ashcroft was first challenged in the Republican primary, defeating Marc Perkel.
. In the midst of a tight race, Carnahan died in an airplane crash two weeks prior to the November general election. However, Carnahan's name remained on the ballot due to Missouri state election laws. Lieutenant Governor Roger Wilson
became Governor upon Carnahan's death. Wilson announced that should Carnahan be elected he would appoint his widow, Jean Carnahan
, to serve in her husband's place; Mrs. Carnahan agreed to this arrangement. Ashcroft suspended all campaigning after the plane crash in light of the tragedy.
, Hale Boggs
, and Patsy Mink
).
This loss was despite having a larger budget than Carnahan that included controversial contributions from corporations such as Monsanto Company (headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri
), which contributed five times more to Ashcroft than to any other congressional hopeful at the time.
He thereby became the first Senate incumbent ever defeated for re-election by a dead man's name on the ballot (it was understood that Mel Carnahan
's wife, Jean Carnahan
, would assume the position if he won election).
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...
. Incumbent John Ashcroft
John Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...
lost re-election to 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...
.
Background
In 1998, incumbent John AshcroftJohn Ashcroft
John David Ashcroft is a United States politician who served as the 79th United States Attorney General, from 2001 until 2005, appointed by President George W. Bush. Ashcroft previously served as the 50th Governor of Missouri and a U.S...
(R) briefly considered running for president, but on January 5, 1999, he announced that he would not seek the presidency and would instead defend his Senate seat in his 2000 reelection. Ashcroft was first challenged in the Republican primary, defeating Marc Perkel.
Campaign
In the general election, Ashcroft faced a challenge from then-Governor Mel CarnahanMel 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...
. In the midst of a tight race, Carnahan died in an airplane crash two weeks prior to the November general election. However, Carnahan's name remained on the ballot due to Missouri state election laws. Lieutenant Governor Roger Wilson
Roger B. Wilson
Roger B. Wilson is an American politician who was the 52nd Governor of Missouri from October 16, 2000 to January 8, 2001. He is a Democrat.- Early Life and education :...
became Governor upon Carnahan's death. Wilson announced that should Carnahan be elected he would appoint his widow, 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...
, to serve in her husband's place; Mrs. Carnahan agreed to this arrangement. Ashcroft suspended all campaigning after the plane crash in light of the tragedy.
Results
Aftermath
Voters elected Mel Carnahan, although dead, by a narrow margin. No one had ever posthumously won election to the Senate, though voters on at least three occasions chose deceased candidates for the House (Nick BegichNick Begich
Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Begich, Sr. was a Democratic Party member of the United States House of Representatives from Alaska. He disappeared in a plane crash in Alaska in 1972. His son Mark Begich is currently the junior U.S...
, Hale Boggs
Hale Boggs
Thomas Hale Boggs Sr. , was an American Democratic politician and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Orleans, Louisiana...
, and Patsy Mink
Patsy Mink
Patsy Matsu Takemoto Mink was an American politician from the U.S. state of Hawaii. Mink was a third generation Japanese American and member of the Democratic Party. She also was the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.Mink served in the U.S...
).
This loss was despite having a larger budget than Carnahan that included controversial contributions from corporations such as Monsanto Company (headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri
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...
), which contributed five times more to Ashcroft than to any other congressional hopeful at the time.
He thereby became the first Senate incumbent ever defeated for re-election by a dead man's name on the ballot (it was understood that 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...
's wife, 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...
, would assume the position if he won election).