There has been a number of them since the founding of our nation (even when the legislature was electing Senators). The confusion tends to be whether they were "technically" appointed by themselves or whether they resigned and "instructed" the next person in line to the Governorship to "do the deed." Folks like NM Gov Edwin Mechem come to mind (appointed himself in '62), but he lost in the following election. SC Gov Donald Russell did the same in 1965, but lost renomination to Ernest Hollings the following year. In the case of Russell & Mechem, both sounded the death knell on their political careers (however both would be rewarded with judicial appointments later). I can't imagine why Fletcher would want to bail out so quickly if Bunning resigned, has he grown so weary of the job after not even a year ?
Thanks for the info. I knew if anyone knew, it would be you.
More recently, Minnesota Governor Wendell Anderson got himself appointed to the Senate in 1977, when Walter Mondale became Vice President. Technically, his Lieutenant Governor (Rudy Perpich) appointed him, but everyone knew that Perpich was doing Anderson's bidding. It was thought that Anderson was popular enough to withstand any backlash. He wasn't--he lost to plywood magnate Rudy Boschwitz in 1978.