Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Monday that he will make his presidential ambitions known on June 1 in South Carolina.
“You’re all invited to come, spend money when you do, and I will tell you what I”m going to do about running for president,” Graham said on “CBS This Morning.”
Graham all but confirmed that he will jump in the race, saying in the interview, “I’m running because of what you see on television. I’m running because I think the world is falling apart. I’ve done more right than wrong on foreign policy. It’s not the fault of others, or their lack of this or that that makes me want to run. It’s my ability in my own mind to be a good commander in chief and to make Washington work.”
Graham teased his announcement in an email to supporters on Sunday afternoon. “As an announcement draws near, I need to know you stand with me,” Graham wrote, including a link where supporters could donate money.
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The South Carolina senator and foreign policy hawk has received support from several top donors, including billionaire Sheldon Adelson. The casino mogul co-chaired a luncheon for Graham’s PAC that immediately followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s March 3 speech to Congress. At the time, Graham had simply said he was “testing the waters” on 2016. Should he declare his candidacy, Graham will enter a crowded Republican field currently lacking a presidential front-runner. But his chances of being competitive are slim. A recent NBC News/Marist poll shows that while the GOP senator is leading the field in the South Carolina primary, when it comes to all state voters, 58% think he shouldn’t even put his hat in the ring. Graham earlier this month said he was 98.6% sure he was running. Then, just four days ago, he told South Carolina House Republicans that he was 99.9% sure.
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