Longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died at the age of 71 on Saturday night from a "brief and sudden illness," his office announced.
"On the evening of Saturday, July 11, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham passed away from a brief and sudden illness," read the statement from his office. "Senator Graham's family appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period."
According to reporting by NBC News, police scanner audio revealed that emergency personnel responded to a call at Graham's Capitol Hill home on Saturday night for "cardiac arrest." NBC News noted that on Friday, Graham returned from a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and was scheduled to appear on NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
Graham was first elected to the House in 1994 and then to the Senate in 2002. He had been running for re-election in the upcoming November midterms against Democrat Annie Andrews.
His death comes as concerns and speculation surround the condition of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY).