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| South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham joins Republican presidential race | South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham joins Republican presidential race |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Lindsey Graham, the unconstrained Republican hawk, immigration reformer and firearms enthusiast, announced his presidential bid on Monday morning in his hometown of Central, South Carolina. | |
| Promising voters an uncompromising fight against foreign adversaries and smaller government at home, Graham became the ninth Republican to announce a White House bid. The GOP field includes three other senators. | Promising voters an uncompromising fight against foreign adversaries and smaller government at home, Graham became the ninth Republican to announce a White House bid. The GOP field includes three other senators. |
| Graham, 59, who joined Congress in 1994 and has won re-election to the Senate twice by large margins, spoke to a crowd of long-time supporters in Central, a town of about 5,000, where he grew up behind the pool hall and restaurant his parents owned and ran. | Graham, 59, who joined Congress in 1994 and has won re-election to the Senate twice by large margins, spoke to a crowd of long-time supporters in Central, a town of about 5,000, where he grew up behind the pool hall and restaurant his parents owned and ran. |
| “Some of you have known me since I grew up in the back of that bar in that building,” Graham told his audience. “But no one here, including me, expected to hear me say, ‘I’m Lindsey Graham, and I’m running for president of the United States.’” | “Some of you have known me since I grew up in the back of that bar in that building,” Graham told his audience. “But no one here, including me, expected to hear me say, ‘I’m Lindsey Graham, and I’m running for president of the United States.’” |
| Invoking what he called Ronald Reagan’s “policy of peace through strength”, Graham said he had “come to the conclusion that we will never achieve peaceful coexistence with radical Islam”. | |
| “I want as president to defeat the enemies that are trying to kill us. Not just penalize them, or contain them, but defeat them,” he said. “Simply put, radical Islam is running wild.” | “I want as president to defeat the enemies that are trying to kill us. Not just penalize them, or contain them, but defeat them,” he said. “Simply put, radical Islam is running wild.” |
| In calling for a wider military engagement in the Middle East, Graham echoed half a dozen of his Republican primary opponents. But as a would-be bipartisan deal-maker in the Senate on immigration and other issues, he stands apart from the pack. | In calling for a wider military engagement in the Middle East, Graham echoed half a dozen of his Republican primary opponents. But as a would-be bipartisan deal-maker in the Senate on immigration and other issues, he stands apart from the pack. |
| “I’m not going to be the most ideologically pure guy in the primary,” Graham told reporters at a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition last month. | “I’m not going to be the most ideologically pure guy in the primary,” Graham told reporters at a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition last month. |
| Graham was introduced by his sister, Darline Graham Nordone. Recalling the death of their parents when she was 11 and Graham was 20 – their mother from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, their father from a heart attack – Nordone said she was “absolutely scared to death”. | Graham was introduced by his sister, Darline Graham Nordone. Recalling the death of their parents when she was 11 and Graham was 20 – their mother from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, their father from a heart attack – Nordone said she was “absolutely scared to death”. |
| “And Lindsey wrapped his arms around me and promised that he would always be there for me, and always take care of me. And he did.” | “And Lindsey wrapped his arms around me and promised that he would always be there for me, and always take care of me. And he did.” |
| It was a message echoed in an early campaign video released by Graham and featuring Nordone. | It was a message echoed in an early campaign video released by Graham and featuring Nordone. |
| Graham referred to that chapter of his personal history on Monday, in a promise to protect entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. | Graham referred to that chapter of his personal history on Monday, in a promise to protect entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. |
| “I know from personal experience how important those programs are to the lives of millions of Americans,” he said. “I lost my parents when I was a young man and my sister was in middle school. We depended on Social Security benefits to survive.” | “I know from personal experience how important those programs are to the lives of millions of Americans,” he said. “I lost my parents when I was a young man and my sister was in middle school. We depended on Social Security benefits to survive.” |
| In one area of Republican thought, however, Graham follows an orthodox if notably enthusiastic line. He has used congressional hearings on gun violence to oppose new limits on magazine capacity for rifles and to boast of his ownership of an assault rifle. | In one area of Republican thought, however, Graham follows an orthodox if notably enthusiastic line. He has used congressional hearings on gun violence to oppose new limits on magazine capacity for rifles and to boast of his ownership of an assault rifle. |
| “I have an AR15 at home, and I haven’t hurt anybody and I don’t intend to do it,” Graham said in January 2013. “But I think I would be better off protecting my business or my family, if there was a law-and-order breakdown in my community, people roaming around my neighborhood, to have an AR-15 and I don’t think that makes me an unreasonable person.” | “I have an AR15 at home, and I haven’t hurt anybody and I don’t intend to do it,” Graham said in January 2013. “But I think I would be better off protecting my business or my family, if there was a law-and-order breakdown in my community, people roaming around my neighborhood, to have an AR-15 and I don’t think that makes me an unreasonable person.” |
| As unlikely as Graham’s bid may seem, he is a popular politician from South Carolina, an early voting state in the primary process. A win on home ground could give him a strong start. Former Republican senator Norm Coleman told the Guardian in April that the party was taking Graham’s bid seriously. | As unlikely as Graham’s bid may seem, he is a popular politician from South Carolina, an early voting state in the primary process. A win on home ground could give him a strong start. Former Republican senator Norm Coleman told the Guardian in April that the party was taking Graham’s bid seriously. |
| “Look I’m a Lindsey Graham guy,” Coleman said. “They’re taking him seriously. He has got his voice on foreign policy, in terms of the US-Israel relationship, in terms of the danger of [Russian president Vladimir] Putin, foreign policy is the issue. | “Look I’m a Lindsey Graham guy,” Coleman said. “They’re taking him seriously. He has got his voice on foreign policy, in terms of the US-Israel relationship, in terms of the danger of [Russian president Vladimir] Putin, foreign policy is the issue. |
| “If the issue were domestic policy, Lindsey may be in a different place. And look, South Carolina is third [to vote in the primaries], and all of a sudden you become a player.” | “If the issue were domestic policy, Lindsey may be in a different place. And look, South Carolina is third [to vote in the primaries], and all of a sudden you become a player.” |
| Graham also has the potential to separate himself from the Republican pack by leading the rhetorical charge for a military confrontation against Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria, and possibly beyond. Graham is one of the Senate’s most consistent and vocal cheerleaders for military intervention. | Graham also has the potential to separate himself from the Republican pack by leading the rhetorical charge for a military confrontation against Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria, and possibly beyond. Graham is one of the Senate’s most consistent and vocal cheerleaders for military intervention. |
| “I’ve never been more worried about my country than I am today, in terms of radical Islam,” Graham said earlier this year. “And yes, it is radical Islam.” | “I’ve never been more worried about my country than I am today, in terms of radical Islam,” Graham said earlier this year. “And yes, it is radical Islam.” |
| Graham’s foreign policy hawkishness is complemented by an unwavering support for government surveillance programs. He has mocked the idea that government spying represents a threat to privacy. Graham was caught last month by cameras in the Senate chamber rolling his eyes at a move by Senator Rand Paul to block an extension of the USA Patriot Act. | Graham’s foreign policy hawkishness is complemented by an unwavering support for government surveillance programs. He has mocked the idea that government spying represents a threat to privacy. Graham was caught last month by cameras in the Senate chamber rolling his eyes at a move by Senator Rand Paul to block an extension of the USA Patriot Act. |
| Before entering Congress, Graham served as a lawyer in the US air force, deploying to Germany. He remained an active member of the national guard, and was called to active duty at a South Carolina air base during the 1990-91 Gulf War. He later was criticized for calling himself a Gulf War veteran, despite never deploying overseas during the conflict. He recently announced his retirement from the military. He is unmarried. | Before entering Congress, Graham served as a lawyer in the US air force, deploying to Germany. He remained an active member of the national guard, and was called to active duty at a South Carolina air base during the 1990-91 Gulf War. He later was criticized for calling himself a Gulf War veteran, despite never deploying overseas during the conflict. He recently announced his retirement from the military. He is unmarried. |
| The military contributes more than $19bn annually to the South Carolina economy , and eight major military installations and related facilities account for 153,000 jobs statewide, a University of South Carolina study published earlier this year found. | The military contributes more than $19bn annually to the South Carolina economy , and eight major military installations and related facilities account for 153,000 jobs statewide, a University of South Carolina study published earlier this year found. |
| John McCain, a frequent critic of the White House policy of relative non-intervention in Syria, had said he would endorse Graham, a fellow member of the Senate armed services committee and frequent traveling partner, including on a trip to Egypt in August 2013 to decry the jailing of former president Mohamed Morsi. | John McCain, a frequent critic of the White House policy of relative non-intervention in Syria, had said he would endorse Graham, a fellow member of the Senate armed services committee and frequent traveling partner, including on a trip to Egypt in August 2013 to decry the jailing of former president Mohamed Morsi. |
| “The people who are now in charge of the government were not elected,” Graham said then. “The people who were elected are now in jail. The status quo is unacceptable. Do you all agree with that? You live here.” | “The people who are now in charge of the government were not elected,” Graham said then. “The people who were elected are now in jail. The status quo is unacceptable. Do you all agree with that? You live here.” |