New Delhi, July 13 -- COLUMBIA - While senators were still being notified of his death, the District of Columbia's medical examiner released preliminary findings identifying an aortic dissection caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease as Lindsey Graham's cause of death. Graham's office had said only that he died of a "brief and sudden illness."

he said he had a candidate in mind but that it was "too soon with Lindsey" to discuss the matter publicly.

Graham had represented South Carolina in the Senate since 2003. He was 71, actively campaigning for a fifth term, and serving as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee at the time of his death on July 12. He had shown no signs of health trouble at his most recent public appearance...