{"id":1470,"date":"2026-07-20T22:23:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T22:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/?p=1470"},"modified":"2026-07-20T22:23:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T22:23:07","slug":"sen-lindsey-graham-highlights-record-defends-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/?p=1470","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Lindsey Graham highlights record, defends experience"},"content":{"rendered":"
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GREENVILLE, S.C. \u2014
\nAs he seeks a fifth term in the U.S. Senate, Lindsey Graham says his decades of experience, close relationship with President Donald Trump, and ability to deliver federal resources to South Carolina set him apart from challengers calling for change.<\/p>\n

In an interview with WYFF News 4, Graham reflected on his South Carolina roots and the accomplishments he is most proud of during his time in Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been the highlight of my life,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n

Lindsey Graham grew up in Central, South Carolina, and became the first member of his family to graduate from college. He served in the South Carolina State House, U.S. House of Representatives, and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002.<\/p>\n

Graham pointed to the deepening of the Port of Charleston as one of his signature achievements, saying the project helped secure jobs across the state, including in the Upstate.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout one in nine jobs depend on the port of Charleston, which is now\u2026one of the deepest ports on the East Coast,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n

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Graham said expanding the port to accommodate larger cargo ships was critical for companies, including BMW, which manufactures and ships vehicles worldwide through Charleston. He argued the project strengthened South Carolina\u2019s economy and protected thousands of jobs.<\/p>\n

Graham said a major part of his role is working with local governments to secure federal funding for roads, water systems, sewer projects, and healthcare facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I like about my job is working with state and local government. I was a city attorney, I was a county attorney. A lot of mandates come from Washington. I\u2019m trying to be a team player. I try to go to state and local officials, say, how can I help you?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Graham said he regularly reviews requests from communities across South Carolina.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t fulfill everybody\u2019s wishes, but I pick projects that leverage our state, and sometimes a million dollars in a small county is like a billion dollars, so I always try to make sure I don\u2019t leave my small counties behind, who have a hard time growing,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n

He said he works to make sure smaller counties are not overlooked while also keeping pace with rapid growth in areas like Greenville.<\/p>\n

When asked what he hears most often on the campaign trail, Graham said inflation and fuel prices continue to be top issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know exactly what you\u2019re saying, and the only answer I know to give you is an honest one. They\u2019ll come down when this war winds down, and we\u2019re inside the 10-yard line. But President Trump had to do this in my view. Whatever cost we paid, and it\u2019s been consequential. It\u2019s better than allowing Iran to get nuclear weapons to destroy Israel, and one day come after us. The biggest change in the world for the worse would be if the regime in Iran had nuclear capability,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n

Graham predicted fuel prices would eventually decline as the conflict eases, while also emphasizing what he described as America\u2019s energy independence.<\/p>\n

Several candidates challenging Graham have argued that South Carolina needs new leadership in Washington. Graham countered that experience matters, saying voters should focus on who can effectively deliver results for the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we need people that know what the hell they\u2019re doing and can deliver, really. And that\u2019s what it\u2019s about, having somebody in Washington that can deliver for you and your family. If you think President Trump\u2019s done a good job, I do too. He\u2019s endorsed me, not my opponents, but me. If you want somebody to go to Washington that can help him, I\u2019m your best choice. If you want somebody to go back to Washington who understands the world, the opportunities and dangers it presents to us as a state and nation, I\u2019m your best choice. If you want somebody to go to Washington that can deliver on conservative judges, I\u2019ll be chairman of the Judiciary Committee. I\u2019ll wake up every morning, go to bed every night trying to find a way to get as many conservative judges on that court as I can. If you want somebody in Washington who understands the need for a strong military, you have no better choice than me. So it really is about delivering who is best able to deliver for our state, who is most capable person to help President Trump in his last two years. I think it\u2019s me,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n

He argued South Carolina is a top state to live in because of its business-friendly environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a good tax structure, right, and we\u2019re business-friendly, and I intend to keep it that way. I want to be a voice in Washington that will listen to business and say, what can I do to help you stay here? What can I do to grow your footprint? Let me just say this about South Carolina. If you get nothing else out of this interview, we\u2019re the largest growing state in the nation for a reason, because it\u2019s a great place to live, work, and do business. I intend to keep it that way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As South Carolina continues to grow, Graham said state leaders have to balance economic growth with investments in roads, water, and sewer systems while protecting the natural resources that attract people to South Carolina in the first place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hardest thing for a politician to do is to do something that doesn\u2019t have immediate impact for today, so I always look at projects that will create capacity down the road and invest in them first. You got to maintain what you got, but you also have to plan to meet growth. And without road, water and sewer, you can\u2019t grow healthy, you can\u2019t grow smart. So that\u2019s a constant struggle for me is how to put money into maintaining what we got, and how do you build new infrastructure? And I think I\u2019ve reached a pretty good balance in my political life of doing both, but there\u2019ll come a day where growth gets to be too much too quick and will destroy our quality of life. I think a lot about that, and I understand where the tipping point is at,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n

Graham also pointed to his constituent service offices, which are located across the state and act as local branches of his primary office in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have a problem with the government, or any other problem, come by my office, and we\u2019ll try to help you if we can. That\u2019s very important to me. I want you to feel like you have a place to come and raise your concerns, and we\u2019ll try to meet your concerns where we can,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

South Carolina\u2019s primary election is on June 9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GREENVILLE, S.C. \u2014 As he seeks a fifth term in the U.S. Senate, Lindsey Graham says his decades of experience, close relationship with President Donald Trump, and ability to deliver … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1],"tags":[2,21,20,7],"class_list":["post-1470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","category-trending","tag-breaking-news","tag-donald-trump","tag-donaldtrump","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1471,"href":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1470\/revisions\/1471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}