For those who don’t recognize the name Mel Carnahan, he was a Democratic Senate candidate from Missouri who defeated his Republican opponent, John Ashcroft (yes, that John Ashcroft) in 2000. The reason this election is noteworthy isn’t because Carnahan had some novel strategy, or that he beat a Republican in a purple-to-red state.

The election was noteworthy for this reason: Mel Carhanan was dead.

I don’t mean ‘dead’ as a euphemism for a bad campaign. I mean literally dead, as in deceased. Yes, John Ashcroft lost to a dead guy.

Sure, Carhanan was popular and he (posthumously) garnered some sympathy. But a lot of people just didn’t like Ashcroft (things were a little different in 2000). So I’m not really worried about Fetterman. His health will improve, and even if he needs hearing assistance, he’ll still be a better vote.

Also, he’s not actually dead.