Don't let the fire go out

"Don't let the fire go out" was a phrase used during the 2000 election in a campaign to elect Mel Carnahan to the United States Senate after his death, and is the title of a book written by his widow and US Senator Jean Carnahan on the same subject. It has also become a slogan for the political commentary site that centers on Missouri politics, Fired Up Missouri

Posthumous campaign slogan

Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash weeks before the election. There was not time for the Democratic Party to replace him on the ballot. The goal of the Democratic Party was to get Mel Carnahan elected to the Senate, to give Roger Wilson, who temporarily succeed Carnahan as Missouri Governor, a chance to appoint a replacement candidate into office. Carnahan's widow, Jean Carnahan, was the favorite by many to succeed her husband. Wilson appointed Mrs. Carnahan to the Senate, where she joined the three other new women Senators from the 2000 election. Carnahan served until was voted out of office in 2002 in favor of Republican challenger Jim Talent.

Book

Jean Carnahan wrote the book shortly after losing the 2002 election. The book concerns mostly the time after her husband Mel Carnahan died and she was subsequently appointed to the US Senate in his place.

Fired Up Missouri

Fired Up Missouri is a website that contains commentary centered around Missouri politics. One of the featured bloggers is Jean Carnahan. The name of the group is derived from the slogan.