Missouri: Mournful Bugle Call

A plane crash takes a beloved Governor and dashes a party's hopes

Some governors who have been elected to the Senate have found it a disappointing experience. One day you're a chief executive; the next you're a powerless freshman. But Mel Carnahan was hopeful. A few weeks before his death last week in a private-plane crash, Carnahan told TIME that he enjoyed serving in Missouri's statehouse and that he "revered" his late father, who served in Congress from 1945 to 1960. "I would like to go there and do my own version of what he did," Carnahan said.

Carnahan's death shocked his home state. At his campaign office, aides wandered listlessly. After last...

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