Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) would not rule out running for president in 2016 during an interview on Tuesday’s “Hugh Hewitt Show.”
When he was asked whether he would rule out running for president in 2016, he said “I’ll tell you what I’m ruling in, and that’s getting elected as the senator from South Carolina, replacing sequestration early next year before it guts the military, and try to be a good voice for a positive agenda for Republicans in the Senate, and say no to a bunch of the bad ideas that Obama has put on the table. And we’ll see down the road what happens in terms of our party and national security. We’ve got a lot of good candidates, and the Ronald Reagan view of national security seems to be coming back pretty strong.”
After Hewitt pressed him about whether he was ruling out running in 2016, he responded “what I’m trying to tell you is that I’m running to get reelected…I’ve been really worried for the last couple of years at the drift of the party, and that’s my main concern. So my statement wasn’t about personal ambition as much as about concern for where the party’s going.”
He added, “let me tell you about running for the presidency. I’ve been with McCain twice. You’ve got to raise a ton of money, you’ve got to have an organization all over the country. You go through bursts of hell. I am nowhere near making that commitment. It’s not something I idly talk about. I know what’s required to make a serious run for the presidency. I am nowhere near there, but I am all in for being the senator from South Carolina.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.