Robert Siegel talks to NPR's David Welna, who is in Missouri covering the announcement by Jean Carnahan, the widow of Gov. Mel Carnahan, that she will accept appointment to the Senate if her late husband is elected next week. Mel Carnahan was campaigning against Republican Senator John Ashcroft when he died in a plane crash two weeks ago. His death came too late for his name to be removed from the ballot, and so Democrats are urging a vote for Mel Carnahan -- the late Mel Carnahan -- as a tribute. Mel Carnahan's successor, Roger Wilson, had said he would appoint Mrs. Carnahan to the Senate if Ashcroft were to be defeated.
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