The 2000 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 7, 2000, to select the next U.S. Senator from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. Incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Senator

John Ashcroft John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist and former politician who served as the 79th U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. A former U.S. Senator from Missouri and the 50th ...

ran for reelection to a second term, but he was defeated by Democratic Governor

Mel Carnahan 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 a plane crash in 2000. A Democrat, he was elected posthumously to the ...

despite Carnahan's death in a plane crash three weeks before election day.

Roger B. Wilson Roger Byron Wilson (born October 10, 1948) is an American politician who briefly served as the 52nd Governor of Missouri from October 16, 2000 to January 8, 2001. Wilson was serving his second four-year term as lieutenant governor and was prepa ...

, the newly inaugurated Governor, appointed Mel Carnahan's widow

Jean Carnahan Jean Anne Carnahan (née Carpenter; born December 20, 1933) is an American politician and writer who was the First Lady of Missouri from 1993 to 2000, and served as the state's junior United States senator from 2001 to 2002. A Democrat, she was ...

to fill the seat. As of 2023, this is the first and only time a deceased person has won a U.S. Senate election.

Background

In 1998, freshman Senator John Ashcroft briefly considered running for President in 2000. On January 5, 1999, he announced that he would not seek the presidency and would instead seek a second Senate term in the 2000 election. Incumbent two-term Democratic

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

ran against Ashcroft.

General election

Candidates

, incumbent U.S. Senator (Republican) *

, Governor of Missouri (Democratic) (''died October 16th'') * Charles Dockins (Natural Law) * Hugh Foley (Reform) * Grant Samuel Stauffer (Libertarian) * Evaline Taylor (Green)

Campaign

In the general election for the state's seat in the U.S. Senate, Ashcroft was facing then-Governor

in a highly competitive race, despite the Senator having a larger budget than Carnahan, a

war chest A war chest is a metaphor for any collection of tools or money intended to be used in a challenging or dangerous situation. Historically, it referred to an actual chest located in the homes or barracks of soldiers or military leadership, in which ...

that included significant contributions from corporations such as

Monsanto Company The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup (herbicide), Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbic ...

, headquartered in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, which gave five times more to Ashcroft's campaign fund than to the fund of any other congressional hopeful at the time. Carnahan was killed in a plane crash three weeks before the November election date. Nonetheless, Carnahan's name remained on the ballot due to Missouri's election laws. Lieutenant Governor

became Governor upon Carnahan's death, to serve the remaining term of Carnahan's

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. Ashcroft suspended all campaigning on the day of the plane crash in light of the tragedy and resumed it eight days before the election date.The 2000 elections: Missouri; Senator Refuses To Challenge Loss
by John W. Fountain, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', November 9, 2000

Results

Despite his death, Carnahan won by a margin of approximately fifty thousand votes. He was the first person ever posthumously elected to the United States Senate. Hence, John Ashcroft became the first ever U.S. Senate candidate, incumbent or otherwise, to be defeated by a dead person.Five people have won election to Congress, despite being dead
by Philip Bump, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', October 1, 2014 A professor of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

commented that the incumbent Senator lost the election because his candidacy was "overwhelmed" by a campaign of "emotion and symbolism."

Aftermath

Governor

appointed Carnahan's 66-year-old widow,

, to fill the vacant seat until a successor could be duly elected. Ashcroft stated that he hoped the appointment would be "a matter of comfort for Mrs. Carnahan." Asked by the media whether he would ever seek office again, Ashcroft responded, "The last thing I want to do is think about running for public office again." In December 2000, John Ashcroft was chosen for the position of

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

by President-elect

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and his nomination was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 58 to 42. He served from February 2, 2001 until February 3, 2005. In 2002, a special election was held in Missouri for the remainder of the six-year term of the state's Senator. Jean Carnahan ran for election to complete the term but was defeated by Republican

Jim Talent James Matthes Talent (born October 18, 1956) is an American politician who was a U.S. Senator from Missouri from 2002 to 2007. He is a Republican and resided in the St. Louis area while serving in elected office. After serving for eight years ...

with a margin of approximately twenty-two thousand votes.2002 Official Election Returns
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Notes

References

{{United States elections, 2000

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2000 Missouri elections