Melvin Eugene Carnahan (February 11, 1934 – October 16, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 51st governor of Missouri from 1993 until his death in 2000.

In 1992, Carnahan made a second bid for governor and defeated St. Louis Mayor Vincent Schoemehl in the Democratic primary.

Melvin Eugene Carnahan was born in Birch Tree, Missouri,[1] and grew up on a small farm near Ellsinore.

As a child, Mel Carnahan traveled with his father across the district, attending local events and helping with the campaign.

[5] In 1948, because his father was running for Congress, Carnahan was present for Harry Truman's final campaign stop in St. Louis during that year's presidential election.

[8] He graduated from Anacostia High School[9] and earned a Bachelor of Arts in business administration at George Washington University in 1954.

[10] After graduating, Carnahan joined the United States Air Force but failed the physical, fainting during a blood test.

[12] After returning home, he received a Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri School of Law in Columbia in 1959,[13] graduating Order of the Coif.

[24] He later clashed with Governor Hearnes over his reapportionment plan for state districts, as Carnahan favored a special session on the issue.

[35] Ultimately, incumbent Richard Ichord, who defeated Carnahan's father in 1960 and was planning a gubernatorial bid, ran for re-election.

[39] In 1979, Carnahan announced his return to politics by declaring his candidacy for Missouri state treasurer,[40] which he also intended to use as a basis for a future gubernatorial run.

[58] In 1986, Democrats favored him to run for Missouri's eighth congressional district against incumbent Bill Emerson, and he met with leaders to discuss the race.

[65] The role of lieutenant governor had been seen as irrelevant, and some officials, such as state senator Harry Wiggins, supported measures to abolish the position.

[75] Blunt cited the ongoing court case as his reason for not authorizing the documents, while acknowledging he thought Carnahan was acting governor.

[96] Carnahan, who appealed to skeptical legislators,[97] secured approval from the legislature to increase taxes on income, corporations, and tobacco to raise funds.

"[99] The bill faced opponents who contended that Carnahan broke a promise to bring significant tax increases to a vote for the people to decide.

[106] In 1996, he endorsed a ballot proposal that limited tax raises to no more than $50 million a year unless the people of Missouri voted otherwise.

[111] As a result of the floods, Carnahan oversaw the buyout of affected towns, including the cities of Pattonsburg[112] and Bellefontaine Neighbors.

[117] His goals, such as mandating health insurance companies to ignore pre-existing conditions, failed to be passed by the legislature.

[131] In 1996, Carnahan ran for re-election, campaigning on the Outstanding Schools Act, which he argued made way for optimized education methods in the state.

[134] Because of the Hancock Amendment's provisions on curbing spending, Carnahan returned sizable amounts of money to taxpayers over his second term.

[138] The following year, he signed legislation giving tax credits on prescription drugs to older Missourians.

[140] In 1997, a judge ruled that Missouri could conclude its involvement in school desegregation cases in St. Louis and Kansas City, provided that a plan to replace state funding was in place by 1999.

[153] The issue returned to the political agenda in 1999 when the Missouri legislature proposed a bill to ban mid to late-term abortions.

[154] Carnahan vetoed the bill due to its language, which he argued went further than just restricting mid to late-term abortions and because it lacked exceptions for protecting the mother's health.

[171] The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) later ruled that the crash was due to Randy becoming disoriented, which was exacerbated by inclement weather and instrument failure.

The presidential debate, which was held the next day in St. Louis, opened with a moment of silence, and both candidates made remarks about Carnahan's death.

[185] In 1965, Carnahan received an award from Missouri House Speaker Thomas C. Graham, recognizing him as the chamber's most outstanding Democrat.

[194] Carnahan met his future wife, Jean Carpenter, at a church event and sat beside her at Anacostia High School.

[202] Carnahan and his family were active members of First Baptist Church of Rolla, where he served as an ordained deacon, and he and his wife taught Sunday School.