| State senate 1 | Missouri |
|---|---|
| District 1 | 19th |
| Term start 1 | January 2005 |
| Term end 1 | January 2009 |
| Predecessor 1 | Ken Jacob[1] |
| Successor 1 | Kurt Schaefer |
| State house 2 | Missouri |
| District 2 | 24th |
| Term start 2 | January 1997 |
| Term end 2 | January 2005 |
| Predecessor 2 | Jim Pauley[2] |
| Successor 2 | Ed Robb[3] |
| Party | Democratic |
| Birth date | February 24, 1965 |
| Birth place | St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
| Death date | May 19, 2020 (aged 55) |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (BS) |
Charles Graham (February 24, 1965 – May 19, 2020) was an American politician in the Democratic Party who represented the 19th Senate District in the Missouri General Assembly, which includes the city of Columbia, Missouri, where he lived.
Biography
Graham was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1987 with a B.S. in journalism.[4]
He was first elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1996, and served there through 2005. He was first elected to the Missouri State Senate in 2004, and served as the party's Assistant Minority Floor Leader. He had been mentioned as a possible candidate in the 2006 United States Senate election, but dropped out in support of then-State Auditor Claire McCaskill.
He served on the following committees:
- Education
- Gubernatorial Appointments
- Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence
- Pensions, Veterans' Affairs and General Laws
In 1998, Graham proposed a bill which would have permitted death row prisoners awaiting execution to donate organs (kidneys or bone marrow) in exchange for a commutation of their death sentence.[5][6][7] He was a strong supporter of stem-cell research.
On October 20, 2007, Graham was arrested by the Columbia Police Department on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after rear-ending a vehicle near his home in Southwest Columbia. His license was subsequently suspended.[8]
Graham was a paraplegic after he had an automobile accident at age 16. He received national attention during a 2008 televised campaign rally in Columbia. Then vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden asked him to stand up and was apparently unaware of his paralysis. When Biden realized that Graham could not stand up, he asked for the crowd to stand up for him.[9]
On November 4, 2008, Graham lost his seat after being defeated in the general election by Republican Kurt Schaefer. After the 2008 election, he announced that he had no future plans to run for public office.
Graham died on May 19, 2020, at the age of 55.[10]
References
- Official Manual, State of Missouri, 2005-2006. Jefferson City, MO: Secretary of State.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - MO State Senate 19 Race - Nov 02, 2004"
- ^ "Our Campaigns - MO State House 024 Race - Nov 05, 1996"
- ^ "Our Campaigns - MO State House 024 Race - Nov 05, 2002"
- ^ Votesmart.com.-Charles "Chunk" Graham
- ^ Strait, Jason (1998-03-16). "Oregon Inmate Donation Proposed". The Ledger. Associated Press (AP). p. A10. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ Lowell, Jeffrey A. (1998-04-09). "Proposed organ donation by death row inmates medically risky, coerced and immoral, expert says". Archived from the original on 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ Meslin, Eric M. "Death Row Organ Donation". Indiana University. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ "Text of Columbia Police Department report". Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ jimmydean31432 (9 September 2008). "Biden Gaffe: Asks a Gentleman in a Wheelchair to Stand Up". Archived 2021-12-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 October 2017. – via YouTube.
- ^ "Chuck Graham, former state senator, dies at 55". Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.