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Lindsey Graham Fast Facts

Posted at 12:04 PM, Jan 14, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-01 14:52:29-05

Here’s a look at the life of Lindsey Graham, US senator from South Carolina and 2016 GOP presidential candidate.

Personal:
Birth date: July 9, 1955

Birth place: Central, South Carolina

Birth name: Lindsey Olin Graham

Father: Florence James Graham, restaurant, pool hall and liquor store owner

Mother: Millie Graham, restaurant, pool hall and liquor store owner

Education: University of South Carolina, Columbia, B.A., 1977; University of South Carolina School of Law, J.D., 1981

Military service: US Air Force, 1982-1988; South Carolina Air National Guard, 1989-1995; US Air Force Reserve, 1995-2015; retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2015 as a colonel.

Religion: Southern Baptist

Other Facts:
Growing up, he worked in the pool hall his family owned, the Sanitary Cafe.

His mother and father died within 15 months of each other when Graham was an undergraduate. He helped raise his then 13-year-old sister, Darline, and later adopted her.

In 1994, he became the first Republican elected to the US House of Representatives from South Carolina since 1877.

Told reporters in March 2015 that he has never sent an email.

Was a close friend of the late Sen. John McCain from Arizona.

Timeline:
1982-1988 – US Air Force prosecutor and defense attorney. The last four years are served at Rhein-Main Air Force Base in Germany.

1988-1992 – Assistant Attorney, County of Oconee, South Carolina.

1990-1994 – City Attorney for Central, South Carolina, his hometown.

1992-1994 – Member of the South Carolina state House of Representatives.

1995-2003 – Republican member of the US House of Representatives.

2002 – Is elected to the US Senate, succeeding Strom Thurmond.

2003-present – US Senator from South Carolina.

2013 – Collaborates on a bipartisan immigration reform bill. The measure passes in the Senatebut doesn’t make it through the House.

June 1, 2015 – Announces he is running for president during an event in Central, South Carolina.

June 7, 2015 – Graham says in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash that he would welcome Caitlyn Jenner as a political ally and makes a pitch for a more inclusive GOP.

December 21, 2015 – Announces he issuspending his presidential campaign.

May 6, 2016 – Announces he will not be voting for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton for president in the general election.

January 10, 2019 – The Senate Judiciary Committee announces that Graham has been elected to serve as chairman.