B. Wilson, fulfilled his pre-election promise to appoint Carnahan's widow in her husband's place and a special election was scheduled for 2002. The election would decide who would serve the rest of Senator-elect Mel Carnahan's term, after he died. The winner would serve four more years until the next election in 2006. Governor Roger Wilson had appointed Carnahan's widow Jean to serve temporarily. She then ran for the remainder of the term. Republican Jim Talent defeated her narrowly. While the race would have flipped control of the Senate from the Democrats to the Republicans, the Senate was adjourned, so no change in leadership occurred until the 108th Congress began in January 2003. National security and Carnahan's vote against fellow Missourian John Ashcroft as attorney general were major issues in the campaign. Republicans argued Carnahan owed her vote to Ashcroft, who had lost his bid for re-election to the Senate to Carnahan's husband. Talent, citing Carnahan's votes against homeland-security legislation and missile defense, accused her of being soft on national security, which she objected to, saying he was "doubt[ing] her patriotism." Jack Abramoff contributed $2,000 to Talent's 2002 senatorial campaign, and Preston Gates & Ellis, a former Abramoff employer, had also contributed $1,000 to Talent's campaign. Talent later returned both contributions. Talent's win returned Republican control of the Senate which had been under slight Democratic dominance resulting from Vermont junior senator Jim Jeffords's decision to renounce the Republican Party, turning independent and making the choice to caucus with the Democrats. Talent's victory was certified November 21, 2002, one day before Congress adjourned, which prevented Republicans from claiming a senate majority. He automatically became a Senator the following day because, under federal law, he formally took office as soon as special election results were certified and the day after both chambers of Congress adjourned. Because Republicans would hold the majority in the following Congress, they saw no need to hold a special session in the 107th to take advantage of their brief majority. Montana Incumbent Democrat Max Baucus won re-election to a fifth term. The election got national attention when Baucus's opponent, state senator Mike Taylor, accused Baucus of having implied that Taylor was gay in a campaign ad. The ad was paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, though designed by the Baucus campaign. The ad, which alleged that Taylor had embezzled funds from the cosmetology school he once owned,