Graham Sees Possibility of Trump’s Defeat, Changes After Nov. 3

(Bloomberg) -- Republican Lindsey Graham, who has tied his fate to President Donald Trump perhaps more than any other senator in his party, is starting to talk about the possibility of a future without Trump.

At Thursday’s Senate Judiciary hearing, Graham delivered some sober -- and unusually candid -- remarks about the Nov. 3 election, in which both he and Trump are on the ballot and confronting serious challenges to reelection.

He appeared to acknowledge the chances that they could both lose and hinted at a desire for a more congenial political atmosphere in the Senate than the intense partisanship that’s marked the last four years.

“I just don’t know what’s going to happen, but the more people vote, the better,” Graham said. “I’ll just say this, if I’m around I will commit myself to starting over. Looking forward not backward.”

Less than three weeks before the election, Trump is trailing well behind Democrat Joe Biden in almost every poll, and the three term South Carolina senator faces the toughest challenge of his career from Democrat Jaime Harrison. Several recent polls showed the Senate race tied, though a New York Times/Siena College survey released Thursday found Graham leading Harrison 46% to 40%.

Graham was harshly critical of Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primaries. But once Trump took office he fashioned himself into a defender and counselor to the president, frequently joining him on weekend golf outings. As head of the Judiciary Committee he has worked to advance Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, toward a swift confirmation by the Senate before the Nov. 3 election.

Graham said 2016, when Trump was elected, was a “curve ball in many ways.”

In exchange during the Judiciary hearing with Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, he suggested that 2020 is different.

“Y’all have a good chance of winning the White House,” Graham said.

“Thank you for acknowledging that,” Klobuchar said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.