Mel Carnahan died in an electioneering car accident & his widow was elected to th seat under the banner, “I still remember Mel!”
Almost there, we are getting closer to the real story. In Missouri, the dead vote and they win elections.
Here’s the story:
“In 2000, Carnahan ran in the election against incumbent Republican John Ashcroft to become a United States Senator. It was a heated and intense campaign, in which Carnahan traveled all over Missouri to garner support in what was a very close race. However, early in the evening of October 16, the night before a presidential debate held at Washington University in St. Louis just three weeks before the election, the twin-engine Cessna airplane he was flying on, which was piloted by his son Randy, lost control in rainy and foggy conditions and crashed on a forested hillside near Goldman, Missouri, only about 35 miles (56 km) south of St. Louis. All three on board the plane (Mel and Randy Carnahan and Chris Sifford, the governor’s campaign advisor and former chief of staff) were killed in the crash.
Lieutenant Governor Roger B. Wilson ascended to the governorship and served out the balance of Carnahan’s term, which ended in January 2001. Because Missouri election law would not allow Carnahan’s name to be removed from the November 7, 2000, ballot, the campaign chose Carnahan’s widow, Jean Carnahan, to unofficially become the new Democratic candidate. Wilson promised to appoint her 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.” A Senate first, Carnahan posthumously won, by a 2% margin. Jean Carnahan was then appointed to the Senate and served until November 2002, when she was defeated by a 1% margin in a special election by Republican James Talent.”