MIAMI - The passing of Former Florida Governor and US Senator Bob Graham has left a void in the political landscape.
Graham, who led the Intelligence Committee in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks and vehemently opposed the Iraq invasion, passed away at the age of 87.
His family shared the news on Tuesday through a statement released on X by his daughter Gwen Graham.
Graham, a three-term Senator, once vied for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, highlighting his strong stance against the Iraq invasion.
However, his campaign faced a setback when he underwent heart surgery in January 2003. Despite his efforts to connect with voters, he decided to withdraw from the race in October of the same year. He did not seek re-election in 2004, and his Senate seat was filled by Republican Mel Martinez.
A man known for his unique quirks, Graham popularized the "workdays" political strategy, where he spent time engaging in different occupations like cleaning horse stalls and working as an FBI agent. He was also recognized for his meticulous diary-keeping habits, documenting every conversation, meal, TV program, and even his golf scores.
During his brief presidential campaign, Graham chose to keep his detailed diaries away from the public eye.
Graham was an early critic of the Iraq war, arguing that it shifted America's focus away from the battle against terrorism in Afghanistan. He also faulted President George W. Bush for lacking an occupation plan in Iraq following the removal of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Graham accused Bush of leading the U.S. into war by exaggerating the threat posed by Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that were never discovered. He contended that Bush's manipulation of intelligence data was a more serious issue than the misconduct that led to President Clinton's impeachment in the late 1990s.
This prompted Graham to enter the presidential race briefly.
"The quagmire in Iraq is a distraction that the Bush administration, and the Bush administration alone, has created," Graham stated in 2003.
Despite being a wealthy Harvard-educated lawyer, Graham connected well with Florida voters during his political career.
His political journey began in 1966 with his election to the Florida House of Representatives. Graham went on to win a state Senate seat in 1970, became governor in 1978, and secured re-election in 1982. Subsequently, he served three terms in the U.S. Senate after defeating incumbent Republican Paula Hawkins.
Graham's popularity in Florida remained strong, winning re-election by large margins in 1992 and 1998, carrying 63 out of 67 counties.
Even while in Washington, Graham maintained a focus on the state and leadership in Tallahassee.
When Gov. Jeb Bush and the Republican-controlled Legislature eliminated the Board of Regents in 2001, Graham saw it as a move to politicize the state university system. He led a successful petition drive the next year for a state constitutional amendment that created the Board of Governors to assume the regents' role.
Daniel Robert Graham was born Nov. 9, 1936, in Coral Gables where his father, Ernest "Cap" Graham, had moved from South Dakota and established a large dairy operation. Young Bob milked cows, built fences and scooped manure as a teenager. One of his half-brothers, Phillip Graham, was publisher of The Washington Post and Newsweek until he committed suicide in 1963, just a year after Bob Graham's graduation from Harvard Law.
In 1966 he was elected to the Florida Legislature, where he focused largely on education and health care issues.
But Graham got off to a shaky start as Florida's chief executive, and was dubbed "Gov. Jello" for some early indecisiveness. He shook that label through his handling of several serious crises.
As governor, he also signed numerous death warrants, founded the Save the Manatee Club with entertainer Jimmy Buffett and led efforts to establish several environmental programs.
Graham pushed through a bond program to buy beaches and barrier islands threatened by development and also started the Save Our Everglades program to protect the state's water supply, wetlands and endangered species.
Graham also was known for his 408 "workdays," including stints as a housewife, boxing ring announcer, flight attendant and arson investigator.
"This has been a very important part of my development as a public official, my learning at a very human level what the people of Florida expect, what they want, what their aspirations are and then trying to interpret that and make it policy that will improve their lives" said Graham in 2004 as he completed his final job as a Christmas gift wrapper.
After leaving public life in 2005, Graham spent much of his time at a public policy center named after him at the University of Florida and pushing the Legislature to require more civics classes in the state's public schools.
Graham was one of five members selected for an independent commission by President Barack Obama in June 2010 to investigate a massive BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that threatened sea life and beaches along several southeastern Gulf states.
Here's a social media post from the family about Graham's death:
