The 2000 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 7, 2000, to select the next U.S. Senator from Missouri. Incumbent Republican Senator John Ashcroft lost re-election to a second term to Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan despite Carnahan's death in a plane crash 20 days before Election Day (due to the timing of Carnahan’s death, state law did not allow his name to be replaced on the ballot). Newly-inaugurated governor Roger Wilson appointed Mel Carnahan's widow Jean Carnahan to fill the seat pending a 2002 special election. As of 2024, this is the only time a deceased person has won a U.S. Senate election.