10 Things You May Not Know About Lindsey Graham
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died just hours after returning from a trip to Ukraine. He as 71.
According to the medical examiner, the preliminary examination found Graham suffered an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Graham had complained about not feeling well in the hours leading up to this death. The death certificate will remain pending until toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized.
The South Carolina senator has been hailed as a staunch supporter of President Trump and the conservative movement. Here are some things you may not know about Graham:
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He grew up in extreme financial hardship. Graham spent much of his childhood living in a single room behind the restaurant, liquor store, and pool hall operated by his parents in Central, South Carolina.
He became his younger sister’s guardian at age 22. After his mother and father died within about 15 months of each other, Graham interrupted his own plans to help raise his 13-year-old sister, Darline. He later legally adopted her so she could receive his military benefits.
He was the first person in his family to attend college. Graham earned both his bachelor’s degree and his law degree from the University of South Carolina, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college.
He served in the military for 33 years. Although best known as a senator, Graham spent more than three decades in the Air Force, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve, retiring in 2015 as a colonel.
He never used his 30-plus years in Congress to make money. Graham’s net worth was nearly $1.5 million, leaving the senator, who had a modest upbringing in South Carolina, ranked at 294th in wealth among the 535 voting members of Congress, according to data from the Quiver Quantitative tracker. He did not use his position in Congress to acquire great wealth.
He was a lifelong Southern Baptist. Graham was a longtime member of Corinth Baptist Church in Seneca, South Carolina. He was also a staunch pro-life advocate.
He was one of the House managers during President Bill Clinton’s impeachment. Before entering the Senate, Graham played a nationally prominent role in the 1999 Senate impeachment trial as one of the House Republicans presenting the case.
He once sought the Republican presidential nomination. Graham ran for president in 2015–2016 but withdrew before the first primary votes were cast after struggling to gain traction in a crowded field.
He never married, but said it wasn’t by design. Graham often joked about his bachelor status, saying he “never found time to meet the right girl—or the right girl was smart enough not to have time for me.”
His closest personal relationship in the Senate was with John McCain. The two senators became frequent travel companions on congressional delegations overseas and were part of the bipartisan foreign-policy group nicknamed the “Three Amigos,” along with Joe Lieberman. McCain’s death in 2018 deeply affected Graham and marked a turning point in his political career.
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