Don’t expect to see any straight shooting fresh faces in the 2016 presidential race as Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Monday announced he, too, will be running for President. Graham joins a crowded field of Republicans who are trying to find a worthy, and well heeled, contender to presumptive Democratic candidate Hillary Clitnon.
Mr. Graham’s entry into the race is just a year after his political career looked to be over, when he was targeted by Tea Party conservatives for being too moderate.
Mr. Graham, 59, is a savvy political operator and fought the challenge off with ease. In his announcement Graham said his fear that the world is “falling apart” inspired him to run for the White House. He brings a hawkish foreign policy voice the Republican field with no clear domestic platform at this stage.
He will use a simple, issues based platform at home and “security through strength” abroad, in a formula he hopes will be an effective challenge to the Clinton mega-campaign.
“I want to be president to protect our nation that we all love so much from all threats foreign and domestic,” he told the crowd in his hometown, where he announced the bid. “So get ready. I know I’m ready.”
Mr. Graham is a political insider, having first been elected to the Senate in 2002 after serving eight years in the House of Representatives.
His candidacy is viewed as an underdog bid who has polled lower than rivals Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.
“I think that no one here in South Carolina has any illusions that Lindsey Graham is on a fast track or even near the front part of the pack in that crowded group,” said Robert Wislinski, a political strategist.
While Americans ostensibly have choice in the upcoming election, it appears more likely the nominee for each party will bring more of the same to our nation which badly needs fresh, uncorrupted, thinking.
Stay Connected
