Bob Graham was a Democratic politician who served as the governor of Florida in the 1970s and ‘80s and went on to become a three-term U.S. senator.
- Died: April 16, 2024 (Who else died on April 16?)
- Details of death: Died after a period of declining health following a stroke at a retirement community in Gainesville, Florida at the age of 87.
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Bob Graham’s legacy
A graduate of the University of Florida who got his law degree at Harvard, Graham got his start in politics serving in the Florida House of Representatives. He was first elected in 1966 and served two terms before being elected to the state Senate. While serving there for eight years, Graham had an idea that came to be one of his hallmarks. Challenged by a high school teacher to try to understand her work better, he taught a high school civics class for a day.
Fascinated with the work, Graham turned the challenge into a full semester of teaching civics, but it also gave him the germ of an idea that helped get him elected governor. Beginning in 1977 and continuing throughout his political career, he periodically stepped away from his desk to do “workdays” – eight-hour shifts Graham took toiling alongside his constituents in jobs like construction, short-order cooking, garbage collection and over 900 others. The tactic gave him a common-man appeal, and it helped him better understand the lives and concerns of his constituents.
Elected governor in 1979, Graham served two terms leading Florida. He was a popular Sunshine State leader who focused on education and the environment. He established the Save the Everglades initiative, giving protection to the famed wetland.
Graham was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986. Most notably, he served on the Senate Intelligence Committee, chairing it from 2001 through 2003. It was a volatile time for the committee; just months after Graham became chair, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 rocked the nation. He led the joint congressional investigation into the attacks, and he vocally opposed the Iraq war.
Tapped as a possible vice-presidential candidate several times, Graham planned his own presidential run for 2004. However, after undergoing open heart surgery in 2003, he cancelled his campaign and retired from politics. In later years, he wrote both non-fiction and the novel “Keys to the Kingdom.” Graham was known throughout his career for his habit of taking meticulous notes about his days, jotting down everything — from the constituents he spoke with to the foods he ate and clothing he wore.
Graham on his notetaking
“If anything is peculiar, it is that more people don’t do it.” — from a 2003 interview for the New York Times
Tributes to Bob Graham
Full obituary: Tallahassee Democrat
