Bob Graham

From dKosopedia

Category: Florida Democrats

Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham (born November 9, 1936) was Governor of Florida from 1979 until 1987, and a Democratic U.S. Senator from 1987 until 2005.

Graham has never lost an election. In 1966 he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, and in 1970 the Florida Senate. In 1978 he was elected as Governor of Florida, and in 1986 he ousted Republican U.S. Senator Paula Hawkins. He was easily reelected in 1992 and 1998.

As a Senator, Graham was considered a moderate and a champion for his home state, always keeping a glass of Florida orange juice on hand and rarely seen without his trademark Florida tie. One of his last and most important contributions to the Senate was cosponsoring the bill to create a Director of National Intelligence in 2004.

In February 2003 he announced his intentions to run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004. However, his campaign was disastrous and short-lived, and he dropped out of the race in October 2003, announcing his retirement from the Senate soon after. He was considered a possible vice-presidential candidate for John Kerry however in 2004.

A very popular and beloved politician in Florida, Graham won landslide reelections in 1992 and 1998, but Republican Mel Martinez won his open Senate seat in 2004 in a tight race with 50% of the vote. Graham has expressed a desire to start a special institute that would train future political leaders.