Senator who lost to dead candidate observes Florida trial

Ashcroft

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) -- An incumbent senator who faced his own constitutional quandary after losing to a deceased governor said it would have been "improper" to challenge the vote in court.

"I thought if I pursued all my legal rights, it wouldn't be right for the state of Missouri. It would be improper," Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Missouri, said Saturday during a break in proceedings in a Florida circuit court.

Ashcroft was observing the latest challenge by Democratic candidate Al Gore's attorneys to try to compel two Florida counties to manually recount about 14,000 ballots from the November 7 presidential election. Leon County Circuit Court Judge N. Sanders Sauls was hearing arguments on Saturday.

"People need to do what they think is appropriate. But lawyers can find ways to quibble about everything," Ashcroft said.

Ashcroft was defeated on November 7 by Mel Carnahan, the popular Democratic governor of Missouri who died with his son in a plane crash a few weeks earlier. Carnahan's death came too late to replace his name on the ballot.

Roger Wilson, a Democrat who succeeded Carnahan as governor, said at the time that he would appoint Carnahan's widow, Jean, to a two-year Senate term if Carnahan won. Jean Carnahan agreed.

She is to be sworn in as senator in January, and a new election is expected to be held in 2002. Ashcroft did not challenge either the vote or Wilson's decision.