Carnahan, Jean, 1933-

Jean Anne Carpenter Carnahan (born December 20, 1933) is an American politician and writer who was the First Lady of Missouri from 1993 to 2000, and served as the state's junior United States Senator from 2001 to 2002. A Democrat, she was appointed to fill the Senate seat of her husband Mel Carnahan, who had been posthumously elected, becoming the first woman to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate.

Born Jean Anne Carpenter in Washington, D.C., to a working-class family, Carnahan was determined to go to college. Jean worked through the year while attending George Washington University. She graduated in 1955 with a degree in Business and Public Administration, the first in her family to graduate from high school and college. She is an alumna of Kappa Delta sorority. She married Mel Carnahan in 1954 and two years later they moved to his home state of Missouri. As her husband entered politics, she became his political partner. He was elected Governor of Missouri, serving from 1993 to 2000. She was an activist First Lady: an advocate for on-site daycare centers for working families, childhood immunization, abuse centers, the arts, and Habitat for Humanity.

In 2000, Governor Carnahan ran for a Senate seat from Missouri against incumbent Republican John Ashcroft. Three weeks before election day, the governor was killed in an airplane crash, along with their son Randy (who piloted the plane) and Chris Sifford, the governor's chief of staff and campaign advisor. Due to the short amount of time before the election, Missouri election law did not allow his name to be removed from the ballot. Acting Governor Roger Wilson announced that he would appoint Jean Carnahan if her husband were to posthumously win the election, making her effectively the Democratic candidate by proxy. The race had been close before the accident, and Mel Carnahan posthumously won (51-48%), receiving 1.19 million votes out of 2.36 million cast. Jean Carnahan was appointed to the Senate in 2001, but under Missouri law, she would serve only until a special election could be held.

In 2002, the special election was held for the remainder of the six-year term. Carnahan ran, but was defeated in a close race by Republican Jim Talent; the margin was only 22,000 votes (49.8–48.6%). Since losing her Senate race, Jean Carnahan has continued as an activist and author. She has written six books and numerous opinion pieces. The title of her 2004 book is a phrase used during the 2000 campaign to elect her husband to the Senate after his death, Don't Let the Fire Go Out.