TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (NEWSnet/AP) — Former U.S. Senator and Florida Gov. Bob Graham, who gained national prominence as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee after the 2001 terrorist attacks, has died. He was 87.

Graham’s family announced the death Tuesday in a statement posted on X by his daughter Gwen Graham.

“We are deeply saddened to report the passing of a visionary leader, dedicated public servant, and even more importantly, a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather,” the family said.

 

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.

Graham, who served three terms in the Senate, made an unsuccessful bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, emphasizing his opposition to the Iraq invasion.

Graham’s political career spanned five decades, beginning with his election to the Florida House of Representatives in 1966. He later served in Florida’s state Senate, was elected governor in 1978, and afterward served three terms in U.S. Senate.

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.

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