Gwen Graham says she's "very much my father's daughter," but she plans to make her own way.
By Associated Press
Published June 14, 2004
TALLAHASSEE - A fresh face with a familiar name could be one answer for Florida Democrats starved for new candidates capable of helping the party regain political clout.
U.S. Sen. Bob Graham's oldest daughter, Gwen, has taken a key role with the state Democratic Party in this presidential election year when her father's Senate seat is also up for grabs upon his retirement.
The 41-year-old mother of three is the state party's national campaign liaison with John Kerry's presidential campaign, with the added responsibilities of trying to keep her father's seat in Democratic hands.
And while Gwen Graham is helping others during this year's election cycle, she has her own political ambitions down the road - possibly a congressional run in 2006 from her family's South Florida base.
She acknowledges the huge asset of her name, but wants to carve out her own political identity. "It's important to me that people understand that I never assume that I can be or do anything just because I'm Bob Graham's daughter."
Name recognition, however, is an elixir in politics. And a big help in Florida.
Connie Mack and Gov. Jeb Bush, for instance, were both able to capitalize on their pedigrees.
Mack, grandson of the famous baseball owner and manager of the same name, served two terms in the U.S. Senate. His son, Connie Mack IV, is a state representative running for Congress from southwest Florida. Gov. Bush mushroomed to prominence in part with the help of a vast fund-raising organization created for his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and former President Reagan.
Aubrey Jewett, a University of Central Florida political science professor, said the Graham name "is as good a name as you can get in Florida politics."
Brian Ballard, a Tallahassee lobbyist and Republican fund-raiser, said Gwen Graham would also benefit from her father's vast network of political contacts.
"She has the instant ability to deal with all of his organization," said Ballard, a close friend. "Gwen would be formidable, but I don't think she wants anything handed to her."
Graham had put aside her political ambitions for the past decade in favor of her responsibilities as a mother of a daughter and two sons, who range in age from 8 to 13.
She has immersed herself in presidential politics since her father's aborted campaign for the nation's top job last year. After he dropped from the race, she made a short run with Howard Dean's presidential campaign before moving to her present job helping the Kerry campaign coordinate its Florida effort.
At 6 feet, she's taller than her father. Like her dad, Graham is pro-choice and shares his passions for education and protecting the Everglades. She opposes any exploratory drilling for oil reserves off Florida's coastline.
"I'm very much my father's daughter," she said. "He will always be my No. 1 political adviser. We don't differ much."
Graham also believes the United States entered Iraq under false pretenses and that President Bush should have tried more diplomacy. "I think the president rushed to war and we're paying for it now in the loss of life and financial commitment," she said. "But now that we're there, we need to stay there and finish the job. We have no other choice."
Graham believes the Iraqi war has also created more of a terrorist threat in the United States and abroad.
"We need to get back in a position where America is seen as the moral leader of the world and President Bush has squandered that," she said. "That's really a shame."
That passion for politics plays well among party stalwarts.
"She's an extremely talented and enthusiastic Democrat who knows the state of Florida as well as anyone there," said Mark Kornblau, spokesman for the Kerry presidential campaign.
Graham is "a true-blue Democrat" who "believes in our issues heart-and-soul," state Democratic Party Chairman Scott Maddox said. "Gwen Graham is going to make a positive contribution to politics in Florida for a long time."
Her father said his daughter is her own person and he's happy that she values the family name. His other three daughters, all of whom are raising families, have not expressed any political aspirations at this point.
"I can tell you she's not just depending on her pedigree," Sen. Graham said. "She's a young woman with a great deal of ability, self-assurance, a willingness to work hard and very motivated by a desire to be a public servant."
Gwen Graham earned a political science degree at the University of North Carolina, married Mark Logan in 1985 in Tallahassee and then earned a law degree from American University in Washington. She worked three years for a Houston-based law firm in Washington specializing in energy and environmental law before starting her family.
She realized that it was time to make some decisions about her life when she reached her 40th birthday Jan. 31, 2003 - the same day her father had open heart surgery. Voters should expect to see a Graham on the Democratic side of the ballot in the coming years.
"I have the drive and commitment to do it," she said. "I have an incredible legacy to carry on."
