80 Facts About Mel Carnahan

Melvin Eugene Carnahan was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 51st governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in 2000.

Mel Carnahan moved to Washington, DC, with his father and attended high school and college there.

Mel Carnahan returned to politics in 1980, being elected as state treasurer.

Mel Carnahan served in the post for four years and was defeated in the Democratic primary for governor in 1984.

In 1992, Mel Carnahan made a second bid for governor and defeated St Louis Mayor Vincent Schoemehl in the Democratic primary.

Mel Carnahan dealt with crises such as the Great Flood of 1993.

Mel Carnahan was re-elected in 1996, defeating State Auditor Margaret Kelly.

Mel Carnahan was posthumously elected to the US Senate, and his widow, Jean Carnahan, was appointed to serve in the Senate until a special election was held in 2002.

Melvin Eugene Carnahan was born in Birch Tree, Missouri, and grew up on a small farm near Ellsinore.

Mel Carnahan's mother was a teacher, and his father was the superintendent of Ellsinore schools.

In 1944, the elder Mel Carnahan was elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing the eighth congressional district, serving from 1945 to 1947 and from 1949 to 1961.

Mel Carnahan later became the US Ambassador to Sierra Leone under John F Kennedy.

In 1948, because his father was running for Congress, Mel Carnahan was present for Harry Truman's final campaign stop in St Louis during that year's presidential election.

The younger Mel Carnahan later said he developed a desire to enter politics because of his father.

In 1945, Mel Carnahan moved to Washington, DC, with his family, though they moved back to Missouri when his father was defeated for re-election.

Mel Carnahan moved back to DC in 1949, where he met his future wife, Jean, at a Baptist church.

Mel Carnahan graduated from Anacostia High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts in business administration at George Washington University in 1954.

Mel Carnahan then served as a special agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations from 1954 to October 1956.

Mel Carnahan then moved to Rolla, the largest city in his father's congressional district, intending to follow his father's career path.

Mel Carnahan won re-election in 1964, and that same year, the Democratic caucus elected him as assistant floor leader to majority leader H F Patterson.

Mel Carnahan served as a Judiciary Committee member, during which the committee moved to pass a conflict-of-interest law requiring any official to report any interests in a bill before voting on it.

Mel Carnahan sponsored a bill to prevent employers from discriminatory hiring practices.

Mel Carnahan helped draw up a redistricting plan, but voters rejected it in a special election.

Mel Carnahan later clashed with Governor Hearnes over his reapportionment plan for state districts, as Carnahan favored a special session on the issue.

In 1966, Mel Carnahan ran in the 20th district for the state Senate.

Mel Carnahan defeated Sally in what his wife Jean later described as one of the hardest-fought campaigns he had run.

Mel Carnahan faced Republican state senator Don Owens in the general election.

In 1979, Mel Carnahan announced his return to politics by declaring his candidacy for Missouri state treasurer, which he intended to use as a basis for a future gubernatorial run.

Mel Carnahan had briefly considered another bid for Missouri's eighth congressional district, which Richard Ichord was vacating.

Mel Carnahan criticized Sweeney for being hypocritical because Sweeney had solicited from banking interests himself, albeit unsuccessfully.

Mel Carnahan defeated Sweeney and faced former state senator Gerald Winship in the general election.

Mel Carnahan focused his campaign on continuing to build on the work of outgoing treasurer Jim Spainhower in giving funds in a nonpartisan manner and refrained from making personal attacks on his opponent, who ran a similar campaign.

Mel Carnahan enforced a policy to give state funds to banks that gave agriculture-related loans.

Additionally, during his tenure, Mel Carnahan allowed certain banks to receive state deposits, with special attention to newer banks and banks willing to support small businesses and minority owned businesses.

Mel Carnahan campaigned in opposition to state referendums that would legalize parimutuel betting and would create a state lottery.

Mel Carnahan received the endorsements of former Governor Teasdale and from the Missouri chapter of the National Organization for Women.

Mel Carnahan did not run, and Wayne Cryts would ultimately become the Democratic nominee.

In 1988, after initially expressing a lack of interest in running, Mel Carnahan ran for lieutenant governor, which he won.

Mel Carnahan appealed to the legislature to double the staffing for his office and to expand his access to state planes.

Mel Carnahan expressed interest in using the office for economic and highway development.

Senate president pro tempore Jim Matthewson called upon Mel Carnahan to become the state's drug czar, though Mel Carnahan saw his role as more limited in scale.

Early in Mel Carnahan's term, there was a disagreement between Mel Carnahan and Governor John Ashcroft over who was in charge when the governor left the state.

Mel Carnahan asserted that in his position, he would be acting governor whenever Ashcroft left the state, while Ashcroft believed he was still in charge.

Later that year, while briefly serving as acting governor, Mel Carnahan signed documents, but Blunt refused to authorize any of what he signed.

Blunt cited the ongoing court case as his reason for not authorizing the documents, while acknowledging he thought Mel Carnahan was acting governor.

Some of Schoemehl's supporters tried to persuade Mel Carnahan to run against Senator Kit Bond in the 1992 US Senate race.

Mel Carnahan won the Democratic nomination by a wide margin, winning every county but Ste.

Mel Carnahan, who appealed to skeptical legislators, secured approval from the legislature to increase taxes on income, corporations, and tobacco to raise funds.

The bill faced opponents who contended that Mel Carnahan broke a promise to bring significant tax increases to a vote for the people to decide.

US Representative Mel Carnahan Hancock criticized the tax increases, saying they defied the state's Hancock Amendment, an amendment limiting tax increases without voter approval, of which Hancock was the namesake.

Mel Carnahan opposed the amendment, saying it would cut billions of dollars from the state's budget, possibly forcing the layoffs of teachers and state police.

Mel Carnahan returned from a trip to Europe to declare a state of emergency in every county.

Mel Carnahan traveled across Missouri viewing areas damaged by flooding, and called a special session of the state legislature to decide how to pay for the damage.

Mel Carnahan later became chair of both organizations and gained a seat on the executive committee of the National Governors Association.

Mel Carnahan considered health care a key focus for the 1994 legislative session.

Later that year, Mel Carnahan signed a welfare package with a provision that made recipients sign an agreement to get off welfare in two years in exchange for training for jobs and better benefits.

In September 1994, Mel Carnahan called for a special session to impeach Secretary of State Judith Moriarty.

In 1995, Mel Carnahan underwent a trade mission to South Korea, one of Missouri's top trading partners.

That same year, Carnahan appointed Ronnie L White to the Supreme Court of Missouri, the first black judge to be appointed to the court.

Mel Carnahan maintained continuously high approval ratings throughout his first term.

In 1996, Mel Carnahan ran for re-election, campaigning on the Outstanding Schools Act, which he argued made way for optimized education methods in the state.

Mel Carnahan's opponent was Republican State Auditor Margaret B Kelly.

On November 5,1996, Mel Carnahan defeated Kelly to win a second term in office.

In 1997, lawmakers agreed to remove the state's grocery tax and reduce taxes for private pensions, which Mel Carnahan signed into law.

In 1998, Mel Carnahan signed further tax cuts into law, increasing tax credits for elderly and disabled citizens.

In 1998, Mel Carnahan signed legislation to prevent the Kansas City school districts from becoming insolvent.

Mel Carnahan later signed legislation that created a school board for St Louis school districts, provided some $40 million to public schools in the city, and sought to add suburban school districts to state funding.

Also in 1998, Mel Carnahan enacted a bill to expand Medicaid coverage for impoverished children.

In 1999, Mel Carnahan, who supported the death penalty, commuted the death sentence of Missouri inmate Darrell Mease after Pope John Paul II requested he do so during his visit to St Louis.

Mel Carnahan vetoed the bill due to its language, which he argued went further than just restricting mid to late-term abortions and because it lacked exceptions for protecting the mother's health.

The legislature overrode Mel Carnahan's veto, making him the seventh governor since Missouri statehood to have a veto overridden.

The day after the 1998 midterm elections, Mel Carnahan announced his intention to challenge incumbent Senator John Ashcroft for his US Senate seat in 2000.

Mel Carnahan declined to run in 1998 against Kit Bond, though he refused to consider a future bid permanently out of the question.

Mel Carnahan attacked Ashcroft for having a conservative voting record despite employing moderate rhetoric while casting his record as governor as a "moderate, progressive" record.

The tour was an homage to the former president, who had previously held the Senate seat Mel Carnahan was campaigning for.

Shortly before his death, Mel Carnahan had been behind Ashcroft in the polls.

Mel Carnahan's death was thought to have helped other races down-ballot that year, including the race for governor.

In 1965, Carnahan received an award from Missouri House Speaker Thomas C Graham, recognizing him as the chamber's most outstanding Democrat.

Mel Carnahan met his future wife, Jean Carpenter, at a church event and sat beside her at Anacostia High School.

Mel Carnahan had a humorous side; he once granted a pardon to a boy who sought one after lying to his parents.