Bob Graham presidential campaign, 2004

Bob Graham presidential campaign, 2004
Campaign	U.S. presidential election, 2004
Candidate	Bob Graham United States Senator from Florida (1987–2005) Governor of Florida (1979–1987)
Affiliation	Democratic Party

The 2004 presidential campaign of Bob Graham, senior United States Senator from Florida, began on February 27, 2003 when he filed papers to form an exploratory committee, after delaying his intent to announce on February 3rd due to having heart surgery on January 31. On May 6th, he formerly announced his entering into the race for President of the United States in the 2004 election on the Democratic ticket.

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 by Walter Mondale, but this effort finally went for nothing. He was also seriously considered by three successive presidential nominees (Michael Dukakis in 1988, Bill Clinton in 1992 and Al Gore in 2000) as their running-mate, each time appearing on their finalist list. 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 the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and had a steady stream of TV appearances during the War on Terrorism, soon becoming one of the best known politicians.

He also represented a key swing state, Florida, which decided the 2000 presidential election results. Winning Florida four years later might possibly give Democrats the White House. Graham had won re-election in 1998 in a landslide (with 62.47% of the vote), and had never lost any election before (many of them by a similar high margin).

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