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Lindsey Graham to Announce Presidential Bid

By ALAN RAPPEPORT

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Monday plans to return to the neighborhood where he was raised and announce that he is running for president, injecting a hawkish foreign policy voice into a crowded field of Republican contenders.

Mr. Graham is entering the race a year after his political career appeared briefly to be on the ropes, when Tea Party conservatives targeted him as a moderate to be ousted in the midterm election.

After fending off that challenge with ease, Mr. Graham, 59, has said his fear that the world is “falling apart” inspired him to run for the White House. He will try to convince voters that a platform of pragmatism at home and “security through strength” abroad is the formula that gives Republicans the best chance to beat Hillary Rodham Clinton if she becomes the Democratic nominee.

Mr. Graham was first elected to the Senate in 2002 after serving eight years in the House of Representatives. He joins the nominating contest as an underdog who has struggled in early polls next to rivals who include former 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 in the state.

In previous election cycles, that might not have been the case for someone with Mr. Graham’s credentials.

A former Air Force lawyer and judge, Mr. Graham has made multiple trips to Iraq and Afghanistan, burnishing his reputation as an authority on international affairs. With his years of experience, he may be seen as an elder statesman who can cast a light on Mr. Rubio’s scant record, or scold Senator Rand Paul for his isolationist policies.

As Mr. Graham traveled the country mulling a run, he mixed his usual wry humor with tough talk about terrorism. Speaking at the Lincoln Day Dinner in Iowa in April, the senator left no doubt about how he would handle the rise of the Islamic State group, also called ISIS or ISIL.

“If I’m president of the United States and you’re thinking about joining Al Qaeda or ISIL, I’m not going to call a judge,” he said. “I’m going to call a drone, and we will kill you.”

On domestic policy, Mr. Graham has left himself vulnerable to criticism from within his party. Open to making deals with Democrats to move bills forward, he is often criticized for sounding like a Democrat on climate change, spending and immigration.

In 2013, he worked with a bipartisan group of senators on legislation that would have created a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants. The plan failed, but Mr. Graham has made the case that Republicans are in danger of further losing Hispanic support because of opposition to immigration reform.

Strategists say that fund-raising will be an obstacle for Mr. Graham but that if his candidacy gains traction he could benefit from South Carolina’s status as an early primary state.

“Jeb Bush has pulled up the Brink’s truck and is about to dump it on the 2016 field, so it will be interesting to see how everybody competes with that,” said Luke Byars, who advised Mr. Graham during his last campaign.

One way Mr. Graham will look to compete is by opening up.

Unlike many other candidates, Mr. Graham is unmarried and has no children. To help connect with voters, he often talks about his sister and shares stories of his days working at the pool hall and liquor store that his family operated. Experiencing the early deaths of his parents, he sometimes recalls, made him mature more quickly.