Graham, Ernest R., 1886-1957

Politican, dairy farmer, and rancher.

Born in South Dakota. Moved to Dade County, Florida in 1921 to raise sugar for the Pennsylvania Sugar Company. Served as Florida state legislator (1937-1943). Unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in 1944 and ran unsuccessfully for Dade County Commissioner in 1948.

From the description of Ernest R. Graham Papers, 1908-1957, (bulk: 1923-1948) (University of Florida). WorldCat record id: 27175095

Ernest R. "Cap" Graham was a Florida politician, dairy farmer, and rancher. He was born in 1886 and moved to Dade County, Florida, in 1921 to raise sugar for the Pennsylvania Sugar Company. By 1929, Pennsylvania Sugar apparently had discontinued operations in Florida, and Graham was involved as operator of the Pennsuco Farming Company, either leasing land from or in partnership with the sugar company. In time Graham acquired the property and converted it to dairy farming. He was a member of the boards of the Dade Drainage District and the State Road Department (1929-1931).

In 1936 Graham was elected to the Florida State Senate, where he served two terms from 1937 to 1944. As a state senator, he sought to increase taxes on horse racing in order to increase funding for the aged. This led to his chairing of a Senate Committee to Investigate Racing in the State of Florida, which resulted in the publicizing of alleged corruption and mob connections within the Florida racing industry. Some increase in taxation did result. Graham went to Washington in 1942 as a lobbyist for Dade County and Miami, seeking more government contracts and other benefits for the area. He promoted the use of a barge canal across Florida through Lake Okeechobee to avoid the risk of war-time shipping through the Florida Straits. He entered the 1944 gubernatorial campaign against two major opponents, Millard Caldwell and Robert Lex Green. After finishing third in the Democratic primary, he supported Green.

After leaving the state legislature, Graham returned to farming in Dade county. In 1947-48, he returned to politics to campaign for a seat on the Dade County Commission, running largely on water control issues. He lost in the primary election.

Graham was married twice, to Florence Morris and Hilda Simmons Graham, and had four children: Philip Graham, former publisher of the Washington Post ; William "Bill" Graham, president of the Graham Company and principal developer of Miami Lakes; Mary Graham Crow; and D. Robert "Bob" Graham, former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator. Ernest Graham died in 1957.

From the guide to the Ernest R. Graham Papers, 1908-1957, 1923-1948, (Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida)