Republican Lindsey Graham announces run for President
Senator Lindsey Graham has become the latest Republican to confirm his bid for the White House.
The South Carolina Senator – who has a poor record on LGBT rights – confirmed his campaign after teasing a “big announcement” on Twitter.
Graham – who has never been married and has no children – has consistently denied rumours about his sexuality.
Last year, one of the Senator’s political opponents branded him “ambiguously gay” while campaigning to unseat him.
South Carolina hopeful Dave Feliciano had said: “It’s about time that South Carolina [says], ‘Hey, we’re tired of the ambiguously gay senator from South Carolina. We’re ready for a new leader.”
Graham kept his seat – and was ninth of sixteen people to join the Republican race, following Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, George Pataki, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Rick Santorum.
All of the current roster of candidates are on record opposing same-sex marriage.
Graham is no exception – and also opposed repealing the ban on gay people in the military, and opposed LGBT-inclusive immigration reform.
He recently questioned why same-sex marriage should be allowed and not polygamy, asking the Attorney General: “What legal rationale would be in play that would prohibit polygamy?
“Could you try to articulate how one could be banned under the Constitution and the other not?”
Responding to rumours about his sexuality on another occasion, Graham joked about whether he was having a secret affair with Ricky Martin.
He joked: “Maybe I’m having a clandestine affair with Ricky Martin. I know it’s really gonna upset a lot of gay men — I’m sure hundreds of ’em are gonna be jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge — but I ain’t available. I ain’t gay. Sorry.”
