While eyes were on Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham’s death came out of nowhere.
12 Jul 2026, press release from Sen. Lindsey Graham’s office:
WASHINGTON - The Office of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) released the following statement.
“On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness. Senator Graham’s family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
I have two angles on Graham’s death: the political and the cause of death.
Let’s look at Senate deaths first.
Deaths in Office, Senate
Well, it’s a matter of perspective.
The guy who held that seat before Lindsey Graham was Strom Thurmond, who didn’t die in office (Drew Savicki got that wrong), though he tried his damnedest to do so. He “retired” at the grand age of 98 and died out of office at the age of 100. Graham replaced him via a regular election.
That said, South Carolina did have a lot of Senators die in office compared to other states. Part of that is being in the Union (-cough- -cough-) since the beginning… though not the entire history of the U.S.
But still… they’re number one. They were number one even before Sen. Graham died.
The “missing” state is Utah, by the way. (Yes, tile grid maps are difficult to place all the states in a sane way).
Spreadsheet of Senate deaths
Related Senate Mortality Posts
Feb 2021: Mortality with Meep: On The Congressional Body of Old Folks and Deaths in Office
Apr 2022: All Men Must Die, But They Don’t Have to Die in Office
Sept 2023: Politicians: Don’t Tempt the Reaper
Cause of Death: Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection (I71)
I find Bill Melugin a credible source, and this sounds fairly legit.
In addition, let me link to this post:
This cause of death is actually a rankable cause of death (I71 = Aortic aneurysm and dissection) — and I am not going to give any medical advice whatsoever.
Obviously, I’m not a doctor. But also, the main mortality trend I’m seeing is excellent, almost definitely driven by the reduction in smoking as well as statin use.
I will make a few general comments at the end here, because I am getting annoyed by the usual reactions people have, and I’ll quote from Dr. Prasad as well, because I had this crap when Stu got diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The rates look like they may have increased a little in middle age, but it’s not really by much. It can be just some noise — I wouldn’t overreact to that.
The rates are higher for males than for females, as is usual:
In ages 45-54, where the rates are showing increase, the death rates are very low to begin with. These rates are per 100,000, and it’s hundreds of deaths per year. So it may be just some volatility going on there.
On the whole, this is the story:
It may be that recent trends can be some of the volatility with heart disease deaths in general.
Cause of Death Spreadsheet
Keep Some Perspective: Stuff Happens
I don’t fault lay people for trying to understand a medical tragedy by finding something to grab on to— some intervention they can make in their own life to escape their own fear of mortality— but it is problematic to see doctors leap to unfounded conclusions.
It is always tragic when anyone dies suddenly, and it is natural to try to make sense of it, but sometimes a person can get good medical care, excellent medical care, have well controlled hypertension, and still die of dissection. And if you prescribed echos for all people who fit that description, you will do far more harm than good. That’s the hard truth about life: we all die, and technology is not always able to save us. Even if we used it daily and sync it to our watch.
I ran into this when Stu was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. Stu had been a strict vegetarian for over 20 years. He had done many of the things you were supposed to do. He had been diagnosed at an early age with aggressive prostate cancer.
Sometimes… things happen. There are only so many things you can prevent.
I understand people want to believe they can control what happens with their health. You can improve your odds. However… you can do everything “right,” and something bad still happens. Nonsmokers get lung cancer (and smokers can escape lung cancer as well).
The reason Dr. Prasad and many others say not to screen everybody at all ages for all conditions is because there are false positives. There can be a bunch of noise. Not every pain is an incipient heart attack (or aortic dissection).
Yes, some people are trying to peddle various conspiracy theories (IT WAS PUTIN!) because Graham had the best healthcare, yadda yadda.
My dudes, people with the best healthcare die every day. We all eventually die. Of something. It doesn’t require secret Vatican assassins to explain any of it.