Jean Carnahan

Jean Carnahan
United States Senator from Missouri
In office January 3, 2001 – November 25, 2002
Appointed by	Roger B. Wilson
Preceded by	John Ashcroft
Succeeded by	Jim Talent
First Lady of Missouri
In office January 11, 1993 – October 16, 2000
Governor	Mel Carnahan
Preceded by	Janet Ashcroft
Succeeded by	Patricia Wilson
Personal details
Born	December 20, 1933 (1933-12-20) Washington D.C.
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Governor Mel Carnahan (1954-2000, his death)
Alma mater	George Washington University (B.A., 1955)
Occupation	Author
Religion	Baptist

Jean Anne Carpenter Carnahan (pronounced /ˈdʒiːn ˈkɑrnəhæn/; born December 20, 1933) 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 Jean Anne Carpenter in Washington, D.C. to a working-class family, she was determined to go to college. She worked through the year while attending George Washington University. She graduated in 1955 with a degree in Business and Public Administration — the first in her family to graduate from high school and college. She is an alumna of Kappa Delta sorority. She married Mel Carnahan in 1954.

As Mel Carnahan entered politics, Jean Carnahan was his political partner for several decades. Mel Carnahan was elected Governor of Missouri, serving 1993–2000. Mrs. Carnahan was an activist First Lady — an advocate for on-site day care centers for working families, childhood immunization, abuse centers, the arts, and Habitat for Humanity.

Main articles: United States Senate election in Missouri, 2000 and United States Senate special election in Missouri, 2002

Gov. Carnahan was running in 2000 for a Senate seat from Missouri against incumbent John Ashcroft. Only three weeks before election day, he was killed in a plane crash (along with his son, Randy Carnahan, who piloted the plane, and Chris Sifford, a campaign advisor). Due to the short time before the election, Missouri election law did not allow his name to be removed from the ballot. Acting Governor Roger B. Wilson announced that he would appoint Jean Carnahan if her husband were to win the election posthumously.

The unusual circumstances made it a strange race. Out of respect, John Ashcroft suspended his campaign during the mourning period for Mel Carnahan. Jean Carnahan did not actively campaign, but she did accept Gov. Wilson's offer and filmed one campaign commercial. It had been a close race. Mel Carnahan posthumously received the most votes by a slim margin — only 48,000 votes out of 2.36 million cast (51-48%) — and Mrs. Carnahan was appointed to the Senate in 2001. Although under Missouri law, Mel Caranahan could not legally win, since he was dead and therefore did not "live" in the state, and Ashcroft actually won (received the most votes of the legally qualified candidates), Ashcroft did not contest the election certification of the Democratic Secretary of State. The seat was therefore declared vacant and Jean was appointed although, under Missouri law, she would only serve until a special election could be held in 2002.

The defeated Senator Ashcroft was nominated by President-elect George W. Bush to be U.S. attorney general, and because cabinet appointments are subject to Senate approval, Senator Carnahan found herself in the unusual position of casting a vote on the nomination of her former opponent. She voted against Ashcroft's nomination.

In 2002, the special election was held for the remainder of the 6-year term. Jean Carnahan ran, but was defeated in a close race by Republican James Talent; the margin was only 22,000 votes, 49.8%–48.6%.

The 2004 elections proved better for the Carnahan family, when Senator Carnahan's son, Russ, was elected to Congress, and her daughter, Robin, was elected Missouri's Secretary of State. Robin Carnahan's bid to follow her mother as a United States Senator failed, however, when she was handily defeated by U.S. Representative Roy Blunt in the 2010 election to succeed Missouri's senior Senator, Kit Bond.

Since losing her Senate race, Jean Carnahan has continued as an activist and author. She has written four books and numerous opinion pieces.

She is among the former Missouri First Ladies who have participated in the cherry blossom tree planting in Marshfield, Missouri.

Electoral history

• 2002 Race for U.S. Senate (Special Election to fill remainder of term)
  • Jim Talent (R), 50%
  • Jean Carnahan (D) (inc.), 49%
• 2000 Race for U.S. Senate
  • Mel Carnahan (D), 51% (posthumously elected; Jean Carnahan appointed to fill seat)
  • John Ashcroft (R) (inc.), 48%

Books by Jean Carnahan

• (1998) If Walls Could Talk: The Story of Missouri’s First Families. MMPI ISBN 0-9668992-0-2.
• (1999) Christmas at the Mansion. MMPI ISBN 0-9668992-1-0.
• (2000) Will You Say a Few Words?. Walsworth Publishing Co. ISBN 0-8262-1513-0.
• (2004) Don’t Let the Fire Go Out!. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 0-8262-1513-0.
• (2009) The Tide Always Comes Back. Skyhorse Publishing ISBN 1-60239-744-9.

See also

• Women in the United States Senate

References

• Bio by Fired Up Missouri
• Online News Hour account of the 2000 election
• Online News Hour account of the 2002 election

United States Senate
Preceded by John Ashcroft	United States Senator (Class 1) from Missouri 2001–2002 Served alongside: Kit Bond	Succeeded by Jim Talent
Party political offices
Preceded by Mel Carnahan	Democratic Party nominee for United States Senator from Missouri (Class 1) 2002	Succeeded by Claire McCaskill