Graham denies interest in Supreme Court seat

Senator Lindsey Graham said he's not interested in a seat on the Supreme Court. OWEN RILEY JR./Staff e-mail this story Related Previous coverage • Graham, DeMint differ on high court nominees • Graham calls for patience on Iraq war

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, listed the Seneca Republican as one of four GOP senators whom he could support in the event of a vacancy on the high court.

Graham said he isn't interested. "I'm honored, but have no desire to leave the U.S. Senate," he said. "I believe I can serve my state and nation best in my current position."

Nomination of a senator, a rarity in recent times, could ease high tensions between the parties on an appointment to the sharply divided court, said Clemson University political science professor Bruce Ransom.

Graham, he said, is "willing to work and try to get things done, and in doing that he reaches across the aisle sometimes. But he's still a conservative."

Jim Manley, a spokesman for the leader of the Senate Democrats, said Reid views Graham "as someone Democrats can do business with on occasion."

Graham's role in engineering a compromise with Democrats over President Bush's judicial appointments has caused some of his core supporters, such as Oconee County GOP executive committeeman Jimmie Carpenter, to question his judgment.

But Blease Graham, a political scientist at the University of South Carolina, said Graham's appearance on the Democrats' list gives him political capital that could put him in the president's inner circle in picking a nominee.