Lindsey Graham, the longtime Republican Senator who represented South Carolina, died at 71 on Saturday evening. In a brief statement, his office said the Senator “passed away from a brief and sudden illness” and requested privacy for his family.
Emergency Medical Services audio shows that emergency workers arrived at Graham's Capitol Hill address at 8:27 p.m. Saturday in response to “chest pains.”
Graham joined the House of Representatives in 1995 and the Senate in 2003. He was then reelected three times and was poised to pursue a fourth in 2026.
A fixture in national politics, and a central conservative voice, Graham was known for his hawkish approach to foreign policy, for chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee, and for his dramatic political shift from outspoken critic to staunch ally of President Donald Trump. He was scheduled to appear on Sunday’s Meet the Press.
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According to South Carolina law, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster must now appoint a temporary replacement to Graham’s seat on the Senate. A special primary election will then be held on August 11—with a possible runoff later in August—to choose a new Republican nominee to face Democrat Annie Andrews in the state’s midterm elections in November.
News of Graham's death prompted an outpouring of tributes from political allies, rivals, and world leaders.
Trump called Graham “one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known,” in a post on Truth Social early Sunday
“He was always working, and was a true American Patriot,” Trump said. “Lindsey will be greatly missed!!!”
Graham was once a vocal critic of Trump, having run against him in the presidential primary in 2016, and called him a “race-baiting xenophobic religious bigot” at the time. However, after a reported “make-up” lunch between the two in 2017, he seemed to have a change
