Sen. Carnahan announces election run against Talent

WASHINGTON -- When she took office, Sen. Jean Carnahan, D-Mo., was still mourning the death of her husband and son in a plane crash that led to her becoming a U.S. senator.

Twelve months later, Carnahan has decided she wants to complete the six-year term that voters, remarkably, awarded Gov. Mel Carnahan three weeks after his death. She sent a letter to supporters Tuesday.

"I wanted you to know today that I will run for the U.S. Senate because I feel I am making an important difference for Missouri," she wrote.

Carnahan, 68, was appointed by then-Gov. Roger Wilson after voters narrowly chose her late husband over Republican Sen. John Ashcroft, whom President Bush then tapped for attorney general.

Carnahan will run against former U.S. Congressman Jim Talent, who announced his candidacy last year.

In the letter, Carnahan emphasized her work on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which took her to Afghanistan with other senators last week to see the war on terrorism close up. She also mentioned her role with a handful of moderate senators in shaping a compromise on Bush's tax-cut plan.