Missouri senator in tight race with dead challenger

By LIBBY QUAID

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS – A live incumbent found himself locked in a tight race with a dead challenger tonight in a pivotal U.S. Senate election transformed by tragedy during the campaign’s final days.

The plane crash that killed Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan, his son and an aide last month turned the nationally watched contest against Republican Sen. John Ashcroft from notoriously bitter to bizarre.

The crash occurred too late to revise the ballot. No one had ever posthumously won election to the Senate, though voters on at least three occasions sent deceased candidates to the House.

Late today, with 43 percent of precincts reporting, the race was too close to call. Ashcroft held a lead of 51 percent to 48 percent, but results were out from St. Louis, a Democratic stronghold, and deeply conservative Greene County, Ashcroft’s home turf.

“It’s probably a little early to start a full-blown celebration,” Ashcroft told supporters in St. Louis.

Gov. Roger Wilson, who took office after Carnahan’s death Oct. 16, said he would appoint Carnahan’s 66-year-old widow, Jean, to a two-year term should Ashcroft lose.

Ashcroft, 58, resumed his campaign eight days after the crash, airing his own new TV ad featuring former Sen. John Danforth, a mentor, telling Missourians, “What’s happening today to John Ashcroft is just not right.”

Meanwhile, the late governor’s campaign spent $700,000 to broadcast Jean Carnahan making a direct appeal to voters to keep her husband’s vision alive.

She answered a dozen questions in writing from The Associated Press, describing views in favor of abortion rights, gun control and other issues, all reflecting stands by her husband in direct opposition to Ashcroft’s.

In St. Louis, long lines of voters led a state judge, at Democrats’ request, to order the city to keep its polls open until 10 p.m., three extra hours. A shortage of booths, ballots, judges and equipment had vexed the city throughout the day.

But the Board of Election Commissioners appealed swiftly, and a three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals ordered the polls closed immediately – after they had been open nearly an extra hour.

The petition was filed by Congressional candidate William Lacy Clay, the Missouri Democratic Committee and the Gore-Lieberman campaign.

___

The closeness of the race was reflected in comments from voters today. In downtown Kansas City, 59-year-old Richard Cruse voted for Ashcroft. “It would have been close with Carnahan, but I’m not going to vote for a blind spot with no experience,” he said.

Ellen Schimpf, 29, voted for Carnahan. “I’m somebody’s wife, and I know I could step in and take over my husband’s business if I had to. I think Jean Carnahan could do it, too,” she said.

Both popular vote-getters elected twice as Missouri governor, Carnahan and Ashcroft were politically like night and day.

Ashcroft, a favorite of religious conservatives when he mulled a White House bid, signed restrictive abortion laws as governor that later were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Carnahan, who served one term as Ashcroft’s lieutenant governor and succeeded Ashcroft, vetoed further abortion restrictions as well as concealed weapons legislation.

For years, Missouri political analysts and observers have remarked on the dislike between the two, although Ashcroft and Carnahan both denied it.

Their campaign featured allegations of racism against Ashcroft and a response that included a 40-year-old photo of Carnahan in blackface. They also battled over capital punishment, a controversy generated by Carnahan’s decision, at Pope John Paul II’s behest, to commute a murderer’s death sentence.

Copyright ©2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Olivia Vanni / The Herald 
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County.
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo mayor vetoes council-approved sales tax

The tax would have helped pay for transportation infrastructure, but was also set to give Mukilteo the highest sales tax rate in the state.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring gives the state of the city address at the Marysville Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Marysville council approves interim middle housing law

The council passed the regulations to prevent a state model code from taking effect by default. It expects to approve final rules by October.

x
State audit takes issue with Edmonds COVID grant monitoring

The audit report covered 2023 and is the third since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant documentation.

Bothell
Bothell man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of Marysville middle schoolers

The man allegedly sexually assaulted three students in exchange for vapes and edibles in 2022. His sentencing is set for Aug. 29.

Larsen talks proposed Medicaid cuts during Compass Health stop in Everett

Compass Health plans to open its new behavioral health center in August. Nearly all of the nonprofit’s patients rely on Medicaid.

Snohomish County Health Department Director Dennis Worsham on Tuesday, June 11, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County Health Department director tapped as WA health secretary

Dennis Worsham became the first director of the county health department in January 2023. His last day will be July 3.

Police Cmdr. Scott King answers questions about the Flock Safety license plate camera system on Thursday, June 5, 2025 in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mountlake Terrace approves Flock camera system after public pushback

The council approved the $54,000 license plate camera system agreement by a vote of 5-2.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

The pathway at Matt Hirvela Bicentennial Park is completed Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Lynnwood light rail leads to new trees in Mountlake Terrace

Mountlake Terrace replaced trees removed during construction of the Lynnwood light rail… Continue reading

Riverfront Everett in Everett, Washington on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Everett council extends deadline for riverfront grocery store

A city agreement requires the land owners to bring a grocer there. Developers say more housing units need to be built to attract one to the site.

A firefighter with Sky Valley Fire sprays water on a hotspot Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, along U.S. 2 as the Bolt Creek fire continues to burn between Index and Skykomish. (Peter Mongillo / Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue)
Snohomish County releases draft of wildfire protection plan

Community members can submit feedback and questions online through July.

Snow dusts the treeline near Heather Lake Trailhead in the area of a disputed logging project on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, outside Verlot, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Utah Senator pulls public lands provision from tax bill

The original proposal would have put federal land in Snohomish County up for sale.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.