Bob Graham is arguably Florida's most popular politician, having won five consecutive state-wide elections. Yet, until recently, this millionaire senator was not well known outside his home state. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Graham, who headed the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence – which investigated the attacks – saw his profile rise. His perceived ability to challenge President George W. Bush on issues of national security, as well as his strength in the nation's largest swing state, have led many to believe that he is well positioned to seek a national office.

As befits a man who comes to work every day wearing a tie from his collection of neckwear decorated with pictures of Florida, Graham has deep roots in the state. The family of Hilda Simmons, his mother, moved to Florida in 1885. Bob's father, Ernest "Cap" Graham, who arrived in 1919, bought up nearly 15,000 acres of land after the collapse of the Florida sugarcane industry. This land became the basis for cattle and real estate interests that built the family fortune, of which Bob's share is now worth several million dollars. The family's influence is not contained solely in Florida: the senator's older brother Philip became the publisher of the Washington Post after marrying Katherine Meyer in 1940. Donald Graham, the current publisher, is Bob's nephew.

Graham was born November 9, 1936 in Coral Gables. He attended high school in Miami, where he was voted student body president, then moved on to the University of Florida. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1959, Graham went on to earn his law degree from Harvard University. Returning to his home state, he worked with his brothers, Philip and Bill, creating the Graham Cos. and constructing the new town of Miami Lakes from family-owned land. Miami Lakes, which opened in 1962, has reached a population of 23,000 and is Graham's Florida residence.

Graham has been a Florida politician for most of his life. He first entered the government as a state representative in 1966, serving two terms before moving on to the Florida State Senate in 1970. After completing his second term in 1978, Graham ran for governor. Though initially not well known in the state, Graham had increased his visibility through a series of "workdays" in which he labored alongside common people in a variety of jobs. Helped by a generous infusion of his own money (about $500,000), Graham's campaign won 56 percent of the electorate. He was reelected in 1982 with 65 percent of the vote.

As governor, Graham strongly supported the death penalty. During his watch, 16 people were sent to the electric chair – more than under any other governor at the time – and he signed 147 death warrants. To critics of his policy, Graham responded: "I don't believe any justice is served by procrastination or timidity."

Graham also stressed education and the environment. Although he failed to fulfill promises to vastly increase the salaries of teachers, standardized test scores for Florida's schoolchildren increased during his tenure.

While extremely popular in his home state, Graham has nevertheless faced some questions of impropriety, most of which occurred in the 1980s. One of these revolved around Graham's ties to CenTrust Savings and Loan, an institution whose failure cost taxpayers $1 billion. Graham met several times with CenTrust chairman David Paul (though he says his meetings were "limited" and "appropriate"), and in 1987 Graham's special counsel – a previous CenTrust employee – arranged a private meeting between a CenTrust lobbyist and federal regulators. In 1986, Graham sold his house to Carlos Cardoen, a Chilean arms dealer who helped raise $60,000 for Graham's first Senate race. Cardoen was also accused of laundering millions of dollars and was indicted in 1993 for illegally exporting material to make cluster-bombs sold to Iraq. Graham later said that both of these issues were discussed with the Bill Clinton's campaign when he was vetted in 1992 during vice-presidential screenings, and did not present political liabilities.

In 1986, after serving his second and final term as Florida's governor, Graham decided to run for the Senate. He faced Senator Paula Hawkins. Hawkins, a first-term legislator, was supported by President Ronald Reagan in an attempt to keep Republican control of the Senate. In the most costly senate race in Florida history to that time (over $12.6 million was spent) Graham won with 55 percent of the vote. He was reelected in 1992 and 1998.

On the Hill, Graham became known for his personal eccentricities. Along with his Florida neckties, of which he owns more than four dozen, Graham keeps meticulous notes on all of his activities. He records these in a succession of red, yellow, blue, and green notebooks, each color pertaining to a different season. Not a journal in the traditional sense, these notepads contain records of everything he does during a day, even the time spent writing notes. Graham has also continued his signature "workdays" program and has now completed over a year's worth. For his 365th day, he helped to check in customers and handle baggage for USAirways.

Graham founded and currently chairs the Senate New Democrat Commission, a coalition of pro-business Democrats most visibly represented by former President Bill Clinton. From his position on the Committee of Environment and Public Works, he helped to pass several environmental bills, including a $7.8 billion Everglades restoration law. Graham has been involved in forming his party's stance on prescription drug coverage for seniors, and also serves on the Energy and Natural Resources, Finance and Veterans Affairs Committees.

As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Graham played a key role in the report that analyzed U.S. intelligence failures leading to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Graham has favored an aggressive strategy for defense that differs from that put forward by the Bush administration. In contrast to the other democratic front-runners, like John Edwards and Dick Gephardt, Graham voted against the recent Iraqi war declaration. As he noted during a December 23, 2002 radio show: "Our intelligence agencies have told us that once we go to war with Iraq, and particularly once we are close to winning, Saddam Hussein will strike out against the United States, including unleashing terrorist attacks within the United States. I think we are scandalously ill-prepared to deal with that."

It was during this same radio show that Graham announced he might run for president, voicing dissatisfaction with "the direction we are being led today" and "considering what I think could be my contribution toward a new direction for America."

Graham won his last five statewide campaigns comfortably, is an experienced campaigner, and adept at appealing to a wide range of voters. Mike Thompson, a Miami conservative activist, sees Graham as "a Southern-strategy nightmare" who "poses the most serious threat to President Bush's re-election chances in 2004."