U.S. House of Representatives
Election 2014 In 2013, Graham announced her candidacy against incumbent Republican Congressman
Steve Southerland in 2014. The
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced they would target the race and provide support to Graham. Graham was one of just two Democrats in the entire country to defeat an incumbent Republican that year, beating Southerland in the November election by more than 2,800 votes.
Tenure and political positions Prior to her swearing in, Graham said both parties need new leadership in Congress and that she would not vote for
Nancy Pelosi to be speaker of the House. Graham voted for Rep.
Jim Cooper of Tennessee instead. Graham voted for Cooper again when the House voted on the new Speaker after
John Boehner announced his resignation. Graham was ranked as the ninth most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the
114th United States Congress in the Bipartisan Index created by
The Lugar Center and the
McCourt School. On a scale of zero to one hundred, Graham scores eight as a lifetime rating by the conservative lobbying organization,
American Conservative Union. She also scores a 0 on the 2016
Freedom Works ratings, which is associated with the Tea Party movement. Graham advocated for congressional reforms, including legislation to prohibit members of Congress from using federal funds to pay for first-class airfare and a bill to prevent future government shutdowns. Graham introduced and passed legislation to help
Israel develop an anti-tunneling defense system to detect, map, and destroy tunnels between the
Gaza Strip and Israel. Graham joined Florida Democrats Ted Deutch, Lois Frankel, and Alcee Hastings in opposing the
Iran nuclear deal. Graham voted repeatedly to defend the Affordable Care Act from repeal and supported fixes to the law. She supports the legalization of medical marijuana and the decriminalization of recreational marijuana in Florida. Graham is pro-choice with a 100% ranking from Planned Parenthood and she supports same-sex marriage and LGBT equality, with a 100% ranking from the Human Rights Campaign. Graham supports comprehensive immigration reform. She voted to protect the DACA program for young immigrants. She supports bipartisan legislation to grant permanent legal status to refugees of the Haiti earthquake. She voted to place more stringent safeguards on refugee vetting. Graham supports gun control. In Congress, she joined Congressman John Lewis in the sit-in against gun violence. She co-sponsored legislation to strengthen background checks and prevent those on the terrorist watch list from purchasing guns. On the environment, Graham co-sponsored bipartisan legislation with Congressman David Jolly and Senator Bill Nelson to oppose oil drilling off the beaches of Florida. She rallied almost the entire Florida congressional delegation to support the Apalachicola Bay Restoration Act. She has voted for the
Keystone XL pipeline, based on studies that showed the pipeline would generate less greenhouse gases than transporting the oil by rail, truck, and barge. Graham voted in favor of having the
Environmental Protection Agency re-examine its Waters of the United States rule with more input from those it would affect. She used public records to help expose and investigate Governor Rick Scott's response to a massive sinkhole in Central Florida. Graham supports purchasing land south of Lake Okeechobee to restore the
Everglades River of Grass.
Reaction to redistricting In 2015, the
Florida Supreme Court ruled that the congressional redistricting plan was a partisan
gerrymander in violation of the Fair Districts Amendment. The ensuing court-ordered redistricting shifted most of Tallahassee, which had anchored the 2nd district and its predecessors for almost half a century, to the
5th district. Most of Graham's black constituents were drawn into the 5th as well. To make up for the loss in population, the 2nd was pushed to the south to take in territory from the heavily Republican
3rd and
11th districts. Graham now found herself in what was, on paper, one of the most Republican districts in the nation. Had it existed in 2012,
Mitt Romney would have won it with 64 percent of the vote, which would have been his third-best total in the state. By comparison, Romney carried the old 2nd in 2012 with 52 percent of the vote. Had Graham sought a second term in the redrawn 2nd, she would have been running in a district that was far more Republican than its predecessor, even though she would have retained 68 percent of her former territory. Her only other option for representing at least some of her current constituents would have been to run in the Democratic primary for the heavily Democratic, black-majority 5th District against that district's 24-year incumbent,
Corrine Brown. Her home in Tallahassee was just outside the boundaries of the 5th district, but members of Congress only have to live in the state they wish to represent. Had Graham run in the 5th, however, she would have been running in a district that would have been more than 67 percent new to her.
Committee assignments •
Committee on Agriculture •
Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management •
Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research •
Committee on Armed Services •
Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces •
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations •
Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces == 2018 gubernatorial election ==