CENTRAL — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., didn't shy away from his humble beginnings during Monday's presidential announcement when he said grew up in a liquor store.
Richard Perry, Graham's chief-of-staff, can relate.
Perry grew up in a liquor store - owned by his father, Skipper Perry - on Park Avenue in Aiken, right across from the courthouse.
"I guess Lindsey likes people who grew up in liquor stores," Perry said, laughing.
Born in an Augusta hospital, Perry was raised in Aiken and attended the former Eustis Park Elementary, St. Mary's Catholic School and Aiken High.
After graduating high school, he attended the University of Virginia; from there, he spent two years traveling the world. After his return, Perry was in need of a job and Graham needed someone from Aiken on his team to help him get elected to the U.S. House.
"Aiken's like a second home to (Graham), and he knew the way to Congress was through Aiken when he ran back in 1994," Perry said. "So he invited me to work on his campaign; and when he won, he said, 'We won. Let's go to Washington.'"
Perry started out writing letters and answering phone calls, and he eventually moved up to become Graham's chief-of-staff. He has been with Graham through his transition to the Senate in 2002. Now, Perry is helping lead the charge on Graham's presidential campaign.
Thinking back to Graham's days in the House when he represented Aiken, North Augusta and surrounding areas, Perry said he stayed with him because Graham has the nerve to say what he means.
He also has been impressed with Graham's humility, including his decision to announce his 2016 presidential candidacy in his hometown of Central.
"There was talk about doing it in Columbia. But Central is where he was raised, and Central is where his home is, and so Central is where (it was) going to be," Perry said.
Moving forward, Perry said the campaign strategy is to perform well in New Hampshire and Iowa, and try to finish in the top five in both states. From there, Graham hopes to secure a convincing win in his home state.
If those pieces fall into place, "it's off to the races," Perry said.
"But (Graham) will not compromise his values or positions just because he's in the presidential race," Perry said. "He's taken very unpopular positions on very important issues, and he knows they may not serve well in the primary. But he's true to his beliefs, and that takes a lot of courage."
Derrek Asberry is the SRS beat reporter for the Aiken Standard and has been with the paper since June 2013.
He is originally from Vidalia, Ga., and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Follow him on Twitter @DerrekAsberry.