Lindsey Graham (9 July 1955-) was the US Senator for South Carolina (R) from 3 January 2003, succeeding Strom Thurmond. He previously served as a member of the US House of Representatives (R-SC 3) from 3 January 1995 to 3 January 2003, succeeding Butler Derrick and preceding Gresham Barrett.
Biography[]
Graham speaking after Trump's victory in the 2024 South Carolina primary
Lindsey Graham was born in Central, South Carolina on 9 July 1955, and he graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1977 and from its law school in 1981. From 1982 to 1988, he served in the US Air Force, and he reached the rank of colonel while serving in the reserve. In 1992, he was elected to the State House of Representatives as a Republican Party member, and he was then elected to the US House of Representatives in 1995. In 2002, he won the Republican senatorial primary unopposed and defeated Democratic Party opponent Alex Sanders to become the new US Senator from South Carolina. He was known for advocating a strong national defense, his support of the military, and strong US leadership in world affairs. He worked with Democrats on many issues like campaign finance reform, line item veto, global warming, waterboarding ban, immigration reform and his belief that judicial nominees should not be opposed solely on their philosophical positions; he also opposed the Tea Party movement and advocated for a more inclusive Republican Party. From May to December 2015, he took part in the Republican presidential primary, but he dropped out due to low polling results; he subsequently endorsed Ted Cruz, and he initially opposed Donald Trump's presidential candidacy. However, he came to be one of Trump's biggest supporters during his presidency; in October 2019, he publicly and vehemently opposed the impeachment inquiry against Trump. Later, he drew widespread criticism for breaking an earlier promise not to vote in favor of a new US Supreme Court justice on the eve of an election. Nevertheless, Graham defeated Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison with 55% of the vote to Harrison's 43.7%. Despite his post-January 6 statement that he was done with Trump, Graham returned to being a staunch Trump supporter and endorsed his 2024 comeback presidential bid.