- Bob Graham presidential campaign, 2004
Bob Graham , SeniorUnited States Senator fromFlorida (1987 -2005 ), announced his candidacy forPresident of the United States in the 2004 election on the Democratic ticket onFebruary 27 ,2003 .Graham's name had a long presence in Presidential and Vice Presidential politics, due to his popularity as Governor and Senator. In
1984 there was a movement to draft him for Vice President on a ticket headed byWalter Mondale , but this effort finally went for nothing. He was also seriously considered by three successive presidential nominees (Michael Dukakis in1988 ,Bill Clinton in1992 andAl Gore in2000 ) as theirrunning-mate , each time appearing on their finalist list [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE2DB133DF933A25754C0A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Democrats; CLINTON SELECTS SENATOR GORE OF TENNESSEE AS RUNNING MATE - New York Times ] ] [ [http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/08/07/gore.lieberman/index.html Gore, Lieberman prepare for public debut of Democratic ticket - August 7, 2000 ] ] . He also harbored Presidential ambitions for years.Graham's relatively low-key national profile was significantly raised after the
September 11 attacks . He served as a chairman of theUnited States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and had a steady stream of TV appearances during theWar on Terrorism , soon becoming one of the best known politicians.He also represented a key
swing state ,Florida , which decided the2000 presidential election results. Winning Florida four years later might possibly give Democrats theWhite House . Graham had won re-election in1998 in alandslide (with 62.47% of the vote) [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=130 Our Campaigns - FL US Senate Race - Nov 03, 1998 ] ] , and had never lost any election before (many of them by a similar high margin) [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=265 Our Campaigns - Candidate - D. Robert "Bob" Graham ] ] .Graham's potential nomination was considered by many as appealing, due to his moderate stance. He also would appeal to the Democratic core due to his opposition to the early
Iraqi War (he voted against the authorization of use of military force in200 [ [http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&session=2&vote=00237 U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote ] ] ), and his pro-environmental record. Senator Graham held a reputation as a bright man in politics, with a good sense of humor, and he was never implicated in any scandal.Among his political cons, however, were his cited lack of charisma, his advanced age (67 in
2005 ) and recent medical problems.His candidacy did not find ground, overshadowed by earlier front-runners. He performed very poorly in pools, regularly taking last place. He also cited huge fundraising problems.
Howard Dean took the role of key opposition against the Iraqi war among Democratic candidates, even if Graham had been initially predicted for this role [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1005383,00.html What Dean's Mojo Means To The Top Contenders - TIME ] ] (he was the only one of the 2004 Democratic candidates who voted against authorization).He finally officially dropped out on
October 6 ,2003 , the first major candidate to do so, and did not win a single vote in the primaries. [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=1689 Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Jan 13, 2004 ] ]Graham was mentioned as a possible running-mate for
John Kerry , an eventual nominee (mostly in order to win Florida), but the Massachusetts senator finally selectedJohn Edwards . Graham decided to not seek a fourth Senate term and retired from active politics inJanuary 3 ,2005 .Endorsements
Members of Congress
* Senator
Bill Nelson ofFlorida [http://www.politics1.com/graham.htm Politics1 - Profile of Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) ] ]
* RepresentativeAllen Boyd ofFlorida
* RepresentativeCorrine Brown ofFlorida
* Representative Jim Davis ofFlorida
* RepresentativePeter Deutsch ofFlorida
* RepresentativeAlcee Hastings ofFlorida
* RepresentativeKendrick Meek ofFlorida
* Former RepresentativeJim Bacchus ofFlorida
* Former RepresentativeBen Jones of GeorgiaOther individuals
* Former Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Wayne Mixson ofFlorida [http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/wayne-mixson.asp?cycle=04]
* Former Speaker of the Florida House of RepresentativesJon Mills
* State Senate Minority LeaderRon Klein ofFlorida
* Chairman of theFlorida Democratic Party Scott Maddox
* MayorAlex Penelas ofMiami, Florida
* Former FloridaFirst Lady Rhea Chiles
* Florida State SenatorRod Smith References
* [http://www.politics1.com/dems04.htm Democratic 2004 candidates - Politics1]
* [http://www.politics1.com/graham.htm Politics1 Graham's page]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63703-2003May1.html Running Scared (Washington Post)]
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