A tribute to Mel Carnahan as Democrat Bob Holden accepts the office of governor. Holden waited until the middle of the night to meet with reporters, because of how close the race was. When he did give his acceptance speech, he made mention of the man he succeeds. “I could not close out this evening without…paying my deep respects…to a governor who will go down in history as one of the greatest if not the greatest… Governor Carnahan.” Holden said he was sorry Carnahan could not be with the rest of the Democrats gathered in St. Louis to celebrate the victory. For more detailed election returns, see the Missouri secretary of state’s website at http://sosweb.sos.state.mo.us/enrweb/.