Jean Carnahan, first woman to represent Missouri in U.S. Senate, dies at age 90

Jean Carnahan, who in 2001 became the first woman to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate after being appointed to fill her husband's seat following his posthumous election, died Tuesday in St. Louis County. She was 90.

Her family confirmed the death at a hospice, but did not specify the cause.

Jean Carnahan, the wife of Mel Carnahan, a former governor of Missouri, was appointed to the Senate in December 2000 following her husband's election just weeks after he was killed in a plane crash with one of their sons and a longtime aide. She was sworn in on Jan. 3, 2001.

“I know I did not come to the U.S. Senate in the same way you did,” Jean Carnahan said in remarks to her new Senate colleagues. “I did not have a long-term, personal commitment to a campaign. My name has never been on a ballot. On election night there was no victory celebration. You are here because of your win; I am here because of my loss. But we are all here to do the work of this great nation.”

Carnahan, a moderate Democrat who had never held public office before being appointed to fill her husband's seat, served for nearly two years. She ran to keep the seat in the 2002 election but lost to Jim Talent, a Republican, by 22,000 votes.

Following her defeat, Carnahan told The New York Times that despite the tumult and heartache she had endured, she had always pushed bitterness aside.

“It's an acid in your life that corrodes your soul,” she said.

During her time in the Senate, Carnahan focused on national security and conditions for members of the military, working to secure health care benefits for reservists and National Guard personnel, according to a family statement. She was part of the first congressional delegation to Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She also helped introduce a law requiring corporations to make swift electronic reporting of insider trading.

As first lady of Missouri during her husband's two terms as governor, Carnahan promoted on-site day care centers for working families, supported shelters for victims of domestic abuse and was an advocate for seniors and working families, her family said.

She also published several books, including two about the historic Governor's Mansion in Missouri.

Carnahan is survived by two sons: Russ and Tom; a daughter, Robin; and five grandchildren.