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You are here: Home / Senate / Graham’s Death Highlights Congress’ Age Issue

Graham’s Death Highlights Congress’ Age Issue

July 12, 2026 at 7:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“For more than a month since Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, entered the hospital, Washington has been on something of a death watch for the frail 84-year-old former leader, who has provided no information about his condition,” the New York Times reports.

“So the news of the sudden death on Saturday night of another lawmaker more than a decade younger, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, came as a particular shock to his colleagues. Many of them are around the same age as Mr. Graham, who died two days after his 71st birthday, and did not think of his age or health as an issue.”

“Together, Mr. McConnell’s lengthy hospitalization and the unexpected passing of Mr. Graham offered the latest reminders that the Senate is run by a geriatric class of lawmakers — some old, and some very old — many of whom hang on to their positions of power long past their primes, and long after the age when most Americans have retired.”

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About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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