Shockingly, Senator Lindsey Graham passed away early this morning. As Deanna wrote here, he had just returned from Ukraine and was working hard on those issues, the SAVE Act, and getting ready for the general campaign for his 5th term.
Senator Graham's passed away this evening, just hours after he returned to Washington from Ukraine. A true shock.
— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) July 12, 2026
This was him in Kyiv just yesterday. pic.twitter.com/QNuCRsnKXs
Many are talking about his record. The left is exhibiting their ugly glee over his sudden death, and the jockeying for his Senate seat has begun.
His life story is more interesting than I expected.
The future senator grew up in the rooms behind the Sanitary Cafe, a pool hall, restaurant, bar and liquor store owned by his parents, Millie and Florence James “F.J.” Graham. While his father, also known as “Dude,” tended bar for the millworker clientele, the son racked balls and answered phones.
He would later say jokingly that he learned everything he really needed to know about politics there, often having to tell a wife who called looking for her husband, “He says he’s not here.”
The first member of his family to attend college, Mr. Graham set his sights on a military career, joining the ROTC at the University of South Carolina, although a bad ear and his dismal math scores got in the way of his ambition to become a pilot.
He was still a student when his plans for the future suffered a bigger disruption. His parents died within two years of each other, leaving him to provide for his 13-year-old sister, Darline, who went to live with an aunt and uncle with Mr. Graham as her guardian. After graduating from law school, Mr. Graham legally adopted her, so that she would be eligible for his military benefits.
It wasn’t just that it was rooms at the back of the bar/restaurant. It was essentially a ROOM. Lindsey and his little sister along with their parents heated up water in the bar kitchen for their baths. Graham was 20 when his mother died, with his father passing away a year later. To come back from college every weekend to care for one’s little sister and run the business takes an incredible amount of fortitude.
Tributes are pouring in from around the world and from leaders across the U.S.
“South Carolina lost a statesman and I’ve lost a friend,” the other senator from South Carolina, Tim Scott (R) wrote on social media.
“My prayers are with his sister and the rest of his family. From his humble beginnings to the Senate floor, Lindsey always led with faith, family, and South Carolina first. Lindsey remained committed to public service and doing what he loved. He always introduced levity and brought wit to the most challenging moments,” he added.
On Sunday, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster called Graham “irreplaceable,” and added that he was “the fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America.”
“My heart is heavy this morning to learn of the passing of my friend and colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) wrote on X.
“Lindsey’s long and dedicated service in the Air Force and in Congress carried him to far-flung regions of the world. He was a strong advocate for the United States and a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe,” Thune added.
“He had always been kind, gracious, and thoughtful,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said Sunday on social media. “The United States Senate lost a foreign policy giant.”
“Lindsey was a fearless patriot, a devoted public servant, and one of the fiercest advocates for America’s national security,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wrote in a Sunday X post.
There will be, and already are, many who are dissecting Lindsey Graham’s record. But there are others who are sharing tributes that highlight how much Graham truly enjoyed his work and even got a kick out of his detractors. This is a neat story from Robby Starbuck
I had relentlessly criticized Lindsay Graham for years when I was removed from the ballot in 2022. At the time the most recent polling had me soundly winning the race for Congress.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) July 12, 2026
Lindsay Graham got my phone number and called me wanting to contribute $ to my lawsuit to get back… https://t.co/86U0ISoA30
Lindsey Graham was indeed complex. But it’s becoming very clear that he truly enjoyed his work as a Representative and Senator. From all accounts, he was essentially a happy warrior on behalf of his constituents in South Carolina and this country.
However, there was that one time when the Happy Warrior turned into a Righteous Warrior. And that was during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.
Senate Democrats in a desperate gambit to derail Kavanaugh’s nomination, brought forth Christine Blasey Ford. Her story was so full of holes that not one single person could corroborate her. Yet the Democrats persisted in their libeling of Brett Kavanaugh. So much so, that the outcome of a successful nomination looked bleak.
Lindsey Graham had finally had enough. And boy howdy, did he ever BRING DOWN THE THUNDER.
Graham’s forceful dressing down of the Senate Democrats, and by proxy, the media, completely and utterly changed the direction of the hearing.
Lindsey Graham called down the thunder and put a spotlight of shame on the Democrats. We have him to thank for turning the tide that led to Justice Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
https://twitter.com/RLiberalskiddin/status/2076328969046032683
RIP Senator Graham. You will be missed.
Feature Photo Credit: Lindsey Graham by Gage Skidmore via Flickr, cropped and modified
Well, rest in peace, Senator.
But I think that I’m going to get very tired of all of the hagiography in the next few weeks. Some of us still have our memory, and we remember when he cooked up his mass amnesty scheme for illegals with his good buddy McCain (who I hope is NOT resting in peace, by the way).
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