UPDATE:
Sen. Lindsey Graham died from a ruptured aorta brought on by chronic heart disease, according to the preliminary examination findings of the DC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
ORIGINAL POST:
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, died Saturday night, July 11, from “a brief and sudden illness,” according to a statement released early this morning (Sunday, July 12) by his office.
He was two days past his 71st birthday.
Numerous sources are reporting that the South Carolina Republican died of a heart attack, pointing to transcripts of 9-1-1 calls and emergency dispatch records that show emergency personnel were sent to Graham’s home in Capitol Hill about 8:30 Saturday night after receiving a report that someone was suffering chest pain, according to audio found on the Broadcastify website, which archives public safety radio feeds. Emergency responders later reported performing CPR on someone in the home.
According to USA Today, a woman who said she was in Baltimore, Md., and was on her way to Graham’s home in D.C. was the person who called 9-1-1 to report that Graham was having chest pains. That woman remains unidentified.
Graham does have a younger sister, Darlene Graham Nordone, who lives in South Carolina. Graham legally adopted her after both their parents died within months of each other when she was 13.
Nordone reportedly lives in South Carolina.
Graham, who was never married and never publicly romantically linked to any woman, was long-rumored to have been gay — rumors he steadfastly denied throughout his political career. He also steadfastly maintained a rabidly anti-LGBTQ+ voting record.
The rumors, nonetheless, persisted. In the summer of 2020 a number of male escorts and porn stars “created a stir with the ‘Lady Graham’ hashtag and revelations about ‘ladybugs’” [what one male escort said Graham called the moles he had on specific parts of his body, according to The Washington Blade.
— Tammye Nash