Republican voters in South Carolina return to the polls on Tuesday for the second time in two months to resolve who will take the place of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham after his loss of life in July created a emptiness on the get together’s Senate ticket and sparked a rapid-fire marketing campaign season.
Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks throughout a Senate Appropriations Committee listening to on the FY2027 funds request on Capitol Hill, Could 12, 2026 in Washington.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Pictures
Democrats face an uphill battle to attempt to flip the seat, which the Prepare dinner Political Report charges as solidly Republican.
Notable candidates goal to proceed Graham’s legacy, together with hellos sister
Graham’s sister Darline was appointed to the Senate to complete out his time period the day after his passing, after which launched a bid for the total time period after President Donald Trump endorsed her.
She has confronted skepticism from some Republicans who’ve stated they really feel that she has been elevated because the get together’s most popular candidate when voters do not know a lot about her and thought she would simply be a caretaker for the seat.
“There’s a bit of little bit of uneasiness about that complete course of,” John McGrath, the chair of South Carolina’s Berkeley County Republican Social gathering, informed ABC Information in early August. “As a result of on the finish of the day, finally the people who find themselves going to resolve who the nominee is are the individuals of South Carolina, not D.C., not the consultants that run these large cash [political action committees], organizations.”
However Darline Graham, who had a detailed relationship together with her brother and campaigned for him beforehand, has leaned into her standing as a political outsider, saying that permits her to attach with Individuals. She has additionally stated she plans to be extra targeted on home points and affordability than her brother, who closely targeted on nationwide safety and international affairs, and that she helps taking away the Senate’s legislative filibuster, which her brother supported conserving in place.
Sen. Darline Graham Nordone participates in a a ceremonial swearing-in on the U.S. Capitol on July 14, 2026 in Washington.
Finn Gomez/Getty Pictures
“I am not a politician. I am not a millionaire. I perceive the typical struggles of the American household,” Graham informed viewers throughout a debate in early August.
Darline Graham has served as commissioner of the South Carolina Fee for the Blind, on the South Carolina State Workforce Improvement Board, and in different state roles. She additionally beforehand held roles with Clemson College, the South Carolina Division of Employment and Workforce and the South Carolina Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
She has maintained that she’d be a staunch Trump supporter within the Senate, together with on points such because the Iran battle and voting laws.
“I utterly help the president’s agenda. I am 100% behind him,” she stated throughout that very same debate.
Chase Meyer, a political science professor on the College of South Carolina, informed ABC Information that Trump’s endorsement of Darline Graham ought to stand to assist her given how voters do not know a lot about her but.
“With out that endorsement, it could be onerous to inform how properly she would do in any respect on this race,” he stated.
Darline Graham has not drawn many clear contrasts with different candidates within the race, together with two U.S. representatives operating for the seat: Ralph Norman and Russell Fry, each conservative stalwarts from South Carolina who’ve emphasised their help of the president even whereas operating in opposition to his endorsed candidate.
Rep. Ralph Norman walks throughout a avenue to a tv studio for a debate, Aug. 3, 2026, in Columbia, S.C.
Meg Kinnard/AP Picture
Different notable candidates on the poll embody former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, whose tenure was marred by some controversy however who’s trying a political comeback after a stint in Congress; and businessman Mark Lynch, who ran in opposition to Lindsey Graham in June and notched round 30% of the vote.
If no candidate will get over 50% of the vote, then the highest two vote-getters go to a runoff on Aug. 25.
Democrats eye a brand new matchup
Whoever wins the first election or the potential runoff main will face Democratic candidate Annie Andrews in November. Andrews, a pediatrician, beforehand ran in 2022 for the state’s 1st Congressional District and won the Democratic primary for Senate in June.
“Regardless of who emerges from the first, my mission stays the identical: decreasing prices, defending well being care and combating for South Carolina households,” Andrews stated in an announcement to ABC Information. “We’ve spent greater than a 12 months constructing a statewide grassroots marketing campaign, and we’re prepared for November.”
