Lindsey Graham Enters White House Race With Emphasis on National Security

CENTRAL, S.C. — Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina returned Monday to the neighborhood where he was raised to announce that he is running for president, injecting a hawkish foreign policy voice into a crowded field of Republican contenders.

Mr. Graham entered the race a year after his political career appeared briefly to be on the ropes, when Tea Party conservatives portrayed him as a moderate and tried to force him out of the Senate.

After fending off that challenge with ease, Mr. Graham, 59, has said his fear that the world is “exploding in terror and violence” inspired him to run for the White House. He will try to convince voters that a platform of pragmatism at home and “security through strength” abroad is the formula to give Republicans the best chance to beat Hillary Rodham Clinton if she becomes the Democratic nominee.

“I want to be president to protect our nation that we all love so much from all threats foreign and domestic,” he told about 1,200 supporters assembled in his hometown. “So get ready. I know I’m ready.”

Mr. Graham brings a long legislative record, having been first elected to the Senate in 2002 after serving eight years in the House of Representatives. He joins the nominating contest as an underdog who has struggled in early polls next to rivals who include former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas, and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.

“I think that no one here in South Carolina has any illusions that Lindsey Graham is on a fast track or even near the front part of the pack in that crowded group,” said Robert Wislinski, a political strategist in the state.

In previous election cycles, that might not have been the case for someone with Mr. Graham’s credentials. A former Air Force lawyer and judge, Mr. Graham has made multiple trips to Iraq and Afghanistan, burnishing his reputation as an authority on international affairs. With his years of experience, he may be seen as an elder statesman who can cast a light on Mr. Rubio’s scant record, or scold Senator Rand Paul for his isolationist policies.

“I have more experience with our national security than any other candidate — that includes you, Hillary,” Mr. Graham said to the cheering crowd.

Dressed in a dark suit with a gold and blue tie, Mr. Graham mixed personal anecdotes — of growing up, living and working in a pool hall and taking care of his sister after the deaths of his parents — with thundering promises to confront radical Islam with military force.

Part of Mr. Graham’s challenge will be differentiating himself from the foreign policies of former President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain of Arizona, his close friend, who failed to win the presidency in 2008. So far, Mr. Graham has suggested sending more American troops to Iraq and supporting regional forces in the Middle East to blunt the threat of Islamic State militants.

“I’m afraid some Americans have grown tired of fighting them,” Mr. Graham said. “I have bad news to share with you: The radical Islamists are not tired of fighting you.”

On domestic policy, Mr. Graham has left himself vulnerable to criticism from within his party.

Open to making deals with Democrats to move bills forward, he is often criticized for sounding like a Democrat on climate change, spending and immigration. Speaking about Social Security on Monday, Mr. Graham suggested that the rich should be willing to pay a little more to help those in need.

In 2013, he worked with a bipartisan group of senators on legislation that would have created a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants. The plan failed, but Mr. Graham has made the case that Republicans are in danger of further losing Hispanic support because of opposition to immigration reform.

Strategists say that fund-raising will be an obstacle for Mr. Graham but that if his candidacy gains traction he could benefit from South Carolina’s status as a the second state to hold a primary.

“Jeb Bush has pulled up the Brink’s truck and is about to dump it on the 2016 field, so it will be interesting to see how everybody competes with that,” said Luke Byars, who advised Mr. Graham during his last campaign.

One way Mr. Graham will look to compete is by revealing more about his roots.

Main Street, a two-lane strip that is next to train tracks and dotted with a deli, a cobbler and an auto-repair shop, was closed for the event, and Mr. Graham’s campaign team turned his family’s old bar — then called the Sanitary Café — into a makeshift war room. Old friends and relatives and fans came from across South Carolina to wish him well.

“We need somebody who was in the military who knows what’s going on,” said Lou Hansen, 74, who served in Vietnam. “People are going to realize how good he is when he gets on the debate stage. He’s going to rock them.”

Unlike many other candidates, Mr. Graham is unmarried and has no children. To help connect with voters, he often talks about how he stepped in to raise his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, after their parents died when he was 21 and she was 12.

Experiencing the early deaths of his parents, he sometimes recalls, made him mature more quickly. Ms. Nordone, who introduced her brother, said she hoped to be with him on the campaign trail frequently to show voters Mr. Graham’s softer side.

“He’s kind of like a brother, a father and a mother rolled into one,” Ms. Nordone, 50, said. “I’ve always looked up to Lindsey.”