The Republican Party of Sarasota (RPOSC) has named U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) the recipient of its 2019 Statesman of the Year Award. Sen. Graham will receive the award and be the featured speaker at the RPOSC 2019 Statesman of the Year Dinner on Nov. 15  at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota. Previous winners of the award include President Trump, Sen. Rick Scott, Sen. Ted Cruz, Vice-President Dick Cheney, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour and Fox News and radio host Sean Hannity.

Graham was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, then re-elected in 2008 and 2014. He is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, Budget Committee and Appropriations Committee, where he serves as the Defense Subcommittee Chairman. Prior to serving in the Senate, Graham was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994. He is an Air Force veteran and native South Carolinian.