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: 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.
Then vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden asked him to stand up and was apparently unaware of his paralysis.
[9] On November 4, 2008, Graham lost his seat after being defeated in the general election by Republican Kurt Schaefer.