Mel Carnahan

Mel Carnahan
United States Senator-elect
from Missouri
In office
Elected posthumously
Preceded byJohn Ashcroft
Succeeded byJean Carnahan
51st Governor of Missouri
In office
January 11, 1993 – October 16, 2000
LieutenantRoger B. Wilson
Preceded byJohn Ashcroft
Succeeded byRoger B. Wilson
43rd Lieutenant Governor of Missouri
In office
January 9, 1989 – January 11, 1993
GovernorJohn Ashcroft
Preceded byHarriett Woods
Succeeded byRoger B. Wilson
40th Treasurer of Missouri
In office
January 12, 1981 – January 14, 1985
GovernorKit Bond
Preceded byJim Spainhower
Succeeded byWendell Bailey
Personal details
Born
Melvin Eugene Carnahan

(1934-02-11)February 11, 1934
Birch Tree, Missouri, U.S.
DiedOctober 16, 2000(2000-10-16) (aged 66)
near Hillsboro, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
(m. 1954)
Children4, including Russ and Robin
Parent
RelativesSee Carnahan family
EducationGeorge Washington University (BA)
University of Missouri (JD)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Air Force
RankFirst Lieutenant
UnitAir Force Office of Special Investigations

Melvin Eugene Carnahan (February 11, 1934 – October 16, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 51st Governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in 2000. Carnahan was a Democrat and held various positions, including State Representative—when he became majority leader—State Treasurer and Lieutenant Governor. He was elected Governor of Missouri in 1992 and was re-elected in 1996. In 2000, he ran for the U.S. Senate against incumbent John Ashcroft in a hotly contested election. During the final weeks of the campaign, Carnahan was killed in a plane crash while on his way to a campaign event. He was posthumously elected to the U.S. Senate and his widow Jean Carnahan served in his stead until a special election was held in 2002.

Early life and education

Melvin Eugene Carnahan was born in Birch Tree, Missouri, and grew up on a small farm near Ellsinore. He was the son of Kathel (nee Schupp) and A. S. J. Carnahan, and had one sibling, an older brother Robert "Bob" Carnahan. Carnahan's father was the superintendent of Ellsinore schools and in 1944, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1945 to 1947 and from 1949 to 1961. A.S.J. Carnahan later became the U.S. Ambassador to Sierra Leone under John F. Kennedy. When Mel Carnahan was 12, he traveled with his father across the district, attending local events. In 1948, because his father was running for Congress, Carnahan was present for Harry Truman's last campaign stop in St. Louis. Mel Carnahan later said he developed a desire for public service from his father.

In 1945, Mel Carnahan moved with his family to Washington, D.C. and returned in 1949, the year he met his future wife Jean. He graduated from Anacostia High School in 1952 and earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in business administration at George Washington University in 1954. He married Jean Anne Carpenter the same year, and also joined the United States Air Force (USAF) during the Korean War but failed the physical due to passing out during a blood test. Carnahan then served as a special agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, rising to the rank of First Lieutenant. In 1956, he and his wife moved back to Missouri. He received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Missouri School of Law in Columbia in 1959, graduating Order of the Coif. He then moved to Rolla, the largest city in his father's congressional district.

Early political career

State legislator

Carnahan as state treasurer in 1981
Carnahan as state treasurer in 1981

Mel Carnahan's political career started in 1960 at the age of 26 when he was elected to serve as a municipal judge in Rolla. Two years later, he was elected as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives representing the Rolla area. In 1964, The Democratic caucus elected Carnahan as assistant floor leader to majority leader H.P. Patterson. A few months later, Paterson died and the caucus elected Carnahan as his successor.

During his tenure, Carnahan served as a member of the Judiciary Committee and helped to pass one of the state's first conflict-of-interest laws, requiring legislators and lobbyists to report any interests on a bill. Carnahan also used his influence as majority leader to help advance a bill banning racial discrimination in public places; this bill was later signed into law by Governor Warren E. Hearnes.

In 1965, Missouri was forced to redraw its legislative districts due to a federal court ruling the state's districts suffered from malapportionment. Carnahan helped draw up a redistricting plan but voters rejected it in a special election. Carnahan later clashed with Governor Hearnes over his re-apportionment plan for state districts, in which Hearnes rather than the legislature would pick the members of the independent committee. Eventually, a compromise was reached and a new redistricting commission was created.

In 1966, Carnahan ran in the 20th district for the state Senate. In the Democratic primary, he faced Gene Sally, a former state representative and state senator whom Governor Hearnes had appointed to a state commission. Carnahan defeated Sally in what his wife Jean later described as one of the hardest-fought campaigns he had run. Carnahan faced Republican state senator Don Owens in the general election. The 20th district was considered more-Democratic-leaning but competitive. In November, Owens defeated Carnahan. Carnahan later said of the defeat: "Strangely enough, I value the experience of losing. It does something to you, but it gives perspective."

After his defeat and after his term in the state house expired, Carnahan returned to practicing law in Rolla. He also held a role in the charcoal company his father founded until 1975, when he gave his share of the company to his brother. Carnahan also became president of the Rolla school board; during his tenure on the board, he brought in a new superintendent and helped raise funds to build a new junior high school.

State Treasurer

In 1979, Carnahan announced his return to politics by declaring his bid for Missouri State Treasurer, also intended as a launching pad for a future gubernatorial run. He had briefly considered a bid for Missouri's 8th congressional district being vacated by Richard Ichord, the man who beat his father in 1960, but passed on it.

In the Democratic primary, he faced state Representative and former House Majority Whip Ed Sweeney. Sweeney attacked Carnahan as being beholden to banking interests, in part due to donations from banking interests. Carnahan criticized Sweeney for being hypocritical due to seeking out banking interests himself, albeit unsuccessfully. Carnahan defeated Sweeney and faced former state senator Gerald Winship for the general election. Carnahan focused his campaign on continuing the work of outgoing Treasurer James Spainhower and refrained from personal attacks on his opponent. He won and was back in elected office for the first time since 1966. He served in that post from 1981 to 1985. During his tenure, he activated a policy would give state funds to banks that gave agricultural related loans.

In 1984 Carnahan ran for Governor of Missouri. During his campaign, Carnahan walked from St. Louis to Kansas City to meet voters. The walk began in May and ended in June, with Carnahan having walked over 300 miles. That August, Carnahan lost the Democratic primary election to then-Lieutenant Governor Kenneth Rothman, who lost the general election that year to state Attorney General John Ashcroft. That same year, he opposed Missouri ballot issues, Amendments 5 and 7, which would legalize parimutuel betting and create a state lottery, though conceded during his gubernatorial campaign that he would implement them if the public supported them. Both amendments would pass with over 60% of the vote.

Lieutenant Governor

Carnahan as Lieutenant Governor, 1989
Carnahan as Lieutenant Governor, 1989

After his defeat, Carnahan returned to practicing law in Rolla. In 1986, he was sought by Democrats to run for Missouri's 8th congressional district against incumbent Bill Emerson. He did not run, and Wayne Crits would ultimately become the Democratic nominee. During this time, Carnahan also expressed interest at the prospect of becoming chair of the Missouri Democratic Party. Instead, after initially expressing a lack of interest in running, Carnahan waited until 1988, and made his second comeback to electoral politics by running for and winning the job of Lieutenant Governor. The role of Lieutenant Governor had been seen as largely irrelevant, and some officials even proposed doing away with the position. Nevertheless, Carnahan fought for more funding for the office, and to expand his staffing, and his access to state planes. He also expressed interest in using the office for highway development.

Carnahan's election to the Lieutenant Governorship was the sole Democratic statewide win that year. In 1990, a brief dispute emerged when Carnahan, as acting governor, signed legislation into law, but Republican Secretary of State Roy Blunt refused to authorize any of what he signed. Republican Governor John Ashcroft called upon the Supreme Court of Missouri to clarify the Lieutenant Governor's role while the Governor was out of state. A circuit judge eventually ruled the Governor was in charge, a ruling later affirmed by the state's Supreme Court. This time together would later be speculated to be the beginning of a bitter rivalry between Ashcroft and Carnahan.

While serving as Lieutenant Governor, Carnahan endorsed Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton for president in the Missouri primary.

Governor of Missouri

In 1989, Carnahan announced his intent to run for Governor in 1992. In the Democratic primary, he faced Mayor of St. Louis Vincent C. Schoemehl, who referred to him as a "redneck from Rolla". Carnahan had been perceived by politicians from both parties as a weak candidate, who was seen as nice but unexciting. Some of Schoemehl's supporters tried to persuade him to run against Senator Kit Bond in the 1992 U.S. Senate race. Carnahan won the Democratic nomination by a wide margin, sweeping all but one county. Carnahan faced Republican state Attorney General William L. Webster in the general election. Webster's campaign was hurt by controversy surrounding the state's Second Injury Fund and his ties to private lawyers who were associated with the fund. In the general election, held November 3, Carnahan was elected as Governor of Missouri, amidst a strong Democratic performance in the state.

First term (1993-1997)

President Bill Clinton and Carnahan shaking hands in 1993
President Bill Clinton and Carnahan shaking hands in 1993

Carnahan was sworn into office on January 11, 1993. On January 15, 1993, four days after his swearing in, Cole County Circuit Judge Byron Kinder struck down the states method of public school funding. In response to the ruling, Carnahan later signed into law the "Outstanding Schools Act", a bill which created a new method of distributing aid to schools and proposed education reforms. Among the reforms in the bill included smaller classrooms, putting computers in classrooms and supporting vocational programs. The bill raised income and corporate taxes by $310 million.

The tax increases became subject to criticism from U.S. Representative Mel Hancock, who contended the tax increases violated the state's Hancock amendment, of which Hancock was the namesake. Consequently, Hancock was able to put an amendment on the 1994 ballot that would require voter approval to raise taxes. Carnahan opposed the amendment, claiming the amendment would force the state to cut anywhere from $1 billion to $5 billion, affecting schools and state troopers, and campaigned against the amendment. The amendment, which had been opposed by retiring U.S. Senator John Danforth, was defeated by a nearly 40 point margin. In the aftermath, Carnahan worked to convince lawmakers to support an annual cap on tax increases.

Carnahan also had to deal with natural disasters such as the Great Flood of 1993, one of the deadliest floods in U.S. History. Carnahan would travel across the state surveying damage, and also called a special session of the state legislature to figure out how to pay for the damage. As a result of the floods, Carnahan also oversaw the buyout various towns affected, including as the city of Pattonsburg, and the city of Bellefontaine Neighbors. His actions in the crisis earned him praise from other governors, and earned him the position of Vice Chairman of the Democratic Governor's Association. He would eventually rise to the position of chair of the organization and held a spot on the Executive Committee of the National Governor's Association.

Also during his first term, Carnahan oversaw the impeachment of Secretary of State Judith Moriarty, who had backdated election papers for her son. Carnahan appealed to Moriarty to resign, but she refused. Consequently, Carnahan called for a special session for her impeachment. Moriarty was impeached and removed from office. Carnahan appointed her replacement, Bekki Cook. In 1995 Carnahan appointed Ronnie L. White to the Missouri Supreme Court, the first black judge to be appointed to the court. White would later become the state's first black chief justice, and eventually, a federal judge.

Second term (1997-2000)

Carnahan and a statue of Jim the Wonder Dog in 1999
Carnahan and a statue of Jim the Wonder Dog in 1999

On November 5, 1996, Carnahan defeated Republican State Auditor Margaret B. Kelly to win a second term in office. In 1997, Carnahan passed a cut on the state's grocery tax and on private pensions. Carnahan also made further tax cuts in 1998, increasing tax credits for the elderly and disabled. and in 1999, which included an increase in income tax exemptions for the first time in over 50 years. Also in 1999, Carnahan signed legislation that would give tax credits on prescription drugs to elderly citizens. By the end of 1999, the tax cuts totaled about $1.3 billion. In addition to taxes, Carnahan also signed into law a bill expanding Medicaid coverage for children in poverty, which was estimated to insure over 90,000 children.

In 1998, Carnahan made his second appointment to the Missouri Supreme Court, appointing Michael A. Wolff, a former Attorney General candidate, and legal advisor to Carnahan. He would later serve as chief justice on the court from 2005 to 2007. In 1999, parts of the state were affected by a severe drought, affecting the production of crops such as soybeans. Carnahan declared all 114 counties a disaster area, and sought federal help and assistance to severely affected counties. The drought would not subside until the summer of 2000.

In 1999, Carnahan, a death penalty supporter, commuted the death sentence of a Missouri inmate, Darrell Mease, after Pope John Paul II requested he do so during his visit to St. Louis. This move was controversial, with 34% of voters saying in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch poll that they were more likely to vote against Carnahan in his U.S. Senate bid. That same year, Carnahan opposed a proposition which would have allowed Missourians to carry concealed weapons. The against campaign, which was ran by Carnahan's daughter Robin, won by a 2-point margin, in spite of being vastly outspent. Carnahan had vetoed three abortion bills in 1997, but the issue would resurface again in 1999. That year, the Missouri legislature proposed a bill which banned what was referred to as partial-birth abortions by the procedure's opponents. Carnahan vetoed the bill, due to its language, which he argued went farther than restricting just the procedure, and because the bill lacked exceptions for protecting the mother's health. However, his veto would be overridden by the legislature, making him only the seventh governor since Missouri statehood to have a veto overridden.

2000 U.S. Senate election

On November 4, 1998, Carnahan announced his intention to challenge the incumbent John Ashcroft for his senate seat in 2000. Carnahan was looked at as a possible contender for the Class 1 Senate seat in 1994, but would decline to run for the open seat that John Ashcroft would ultimately win, opting for re-election. He had also generated speculation about a bid in 1998, against Kit Bond, saying that he was 'very likely' to look at a bid. Ultimately, he declined to run.

It had long been speculated that neither man particularly liked each other, though both would deny having any rivalry. The campaign became heated and intense, becoming one of the most hotly contested races in the nation. It was a race marked by negative campaigning, with Carnahan being attacked for his actions as governor, and for other incidents, such as photos resurfacing of him performing in blackface in 1960. Carnahan responded by attacking Ashcroft for being out of step with Missourians, while also defending his record as a "moderate, progressive" one. During the campaign, Carnahan made a whistle stop train tour, an homage to Harry S. Truman, who held the Senate seat decades prior.

Death and aftermath

Early in the evening of October 16, Carnahan, his son Randy, and his campaign advisor Chris Sifford left from St. Louis, to attend a campaign event in New Madrid. However, the twin-engine Cessna 335 airplane he was flying on, which was piloted by Randy, crashed near Hillsboro, Missouri, killing all three people on board the plane. The NTSB later ruled the crash was due to Randy growing disoriented, and was made worse due to inclement weather and instrument failure.

The presidential debate, held the next day in St. Louis, opened with a moment of silence and both candidates made remarks about Carnahan's death. A memorial service for Carnahan was held in the State Capitol in Jefferson City on October 20. His service was attended by federal and state politicians such as President Bill Clinton, First Lady Hillary Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, former U.S. Senator Thomas Eagleton, and Governor Roger B. Wilson. At the funeral, President Clinton said: "I loved the guy, and anybody who thinks he was dull never looked him straight in the eye, because he had steel and passion and fire, and I think he rather enjoyed being underestimated by the people who disagreed with him."

Lieutenant Governor Roger B. Wilson ascended to the governorship to serve out the balance of Carnahan's term the day following the plane crash. Because Missouri election law would not allow Carnahan's name to be removed from the November 7, 2000, ballot, Governor Wilson promised to appoint his widow Jean to the seat, if it became vacant, as a result of Mel Carnahan's win in the election. Carnahan's campaign continued, using the slogan "I'm Still with Mel." In October, shortly before his death, Carnahan had trailed in the polls. In the aftermath of the accident, Carnahan lead in a few polls. Carnahan became the first person in U.S. history to a win a U.S. Senate election posthumously. His death was thought to have helped other races down-ballot, including that year's race for Governor. Jean Carnahan was then appointed to the Senate and served until November 2002, when she was defeated in a special election by Republican Jim Talent.

Awards and recognitions

In 1965, Carnahan received an award from Missouri House Speaker Thomas C. Graham, recognizing him as the chamber's most outstanding Democrat. Also during his tenure as a state legislator, he received the St. Louis Globe-Democrat's Meritorious Service award twice.

The Mel Carnahan Courthouse in St. Louis
The Mel Carnahan Courthouse in St. Louis

The Armory and Reserve Center in Rolla Missouri was renamed in honor of him in 2001, as The Mel Carnahan Armory and Reserve Center. That same year, the U.S. Court House and Custom House in St. Louis was planned to be renamed to the Carnahan Courthouse, though it was not officially called such until 2002. A high school, Carnahan High School of the Future, was named after him in 2003. The garden in the Missouri Capitol was renamed after him, and a bust of him was placed there in 2023.

Personal life

Carnahan married Jean Carpenter in Washington, D.C. on June 12, 1954. They had four children who all became lawyers. Roger "Randy" Carnahan, who piloted the plane and perished in the same crash that killed his father. Russ Carnahan, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Missouri's 3rd District (2005–2013); Robin Carnahan, former Missouri Secretary of State (2005–2013), 2010 U.S. Senate Nominee, and would be appointed the Administrator of General Services under President Joe Biden; and Tom Carnahan, founder of Wind Capital Group, which builds wind farms; The family also had a Newfoundland dog named Beaumont. The family was involved with Mel's campaigns, including waiting in line for days before filing opened to ensure Carnahan's name would appear first on the primary ballot for Treasurer in 1980.

Carnahan was noted for having an upright image coupled with a laid back personality, generally being free of scandal, and never smoking or drinking. This lead many supporters to wear straight arrow pins to highlight this. However, he also had a more humorous side, including once granting a pardon to a boy who sought one after lying to his parents. Carnahan and his family were active members of the First Baptist Church of Rolla, where he served as an ordained deacon and he and his wife taught Sunday School. In his spare time, Carnahan was a pilot.


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