South Carolina GOP voters choose successor in special primary after Sen. Lindsey Graham's death
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Republicans in South Carolina voted Tuesday in a special primary to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the late Lindsey Graham, with his sister Darline Graham, two U.S. Representatives and former governor Mark Sanford among the candidates.
South Carolina Republicans cast ballots on Tuesday in a special primary to select a permanent replacement for the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who died on July 11 from a torn aorta. The race includes Graham's sister, Darline Graham, who was appointed interim senator by Governor Henry McMaster, two members of the U.S. House of Representatives and former governor Mark Sanford.
Darline Graham, a political newcomer, entered the contest a week after her brother's death and received an endorsement from President Donald Trump. While she cannot directly use the president's campaign funds, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is permitted to receive unlimited contributions for advertising that supports her campaign, and a super-PAC that previously backed Lindsey Graham announced it would spend $900,000 on her behalf.
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, who previously ran for governor, has secured endorsements from Senators Rick Scott and Mike Lee as well as Rep. Nancy Mace. Norman is known for his fiscal conservatism but has occasionally clashed with Trump, having supported Nikki Haley in the 2024 presidential primary. Rep. Russell Fry, a staunch Trump supporter from the Myrtle Beach area, also filed for the seat, hoping to broaden his profile beyond his district.
Former governor and congressman Mark Sanford, whose political career was damaged by a 2009 scandal, is seeking a comeback. He re-entered the race three months after ending a bid to retake his former House seat and has been traveling the state to re-introduce himself to voters.
The Democratic nominee, Dr. Annie Andrews, a physician from Charleston, won her party’s primary in June and is now positioning herself against the crowded Republican field. Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina for decades, and the last Senate race in the state was decided by a ten-point margin.
State law required a compressed timeline for the special election, forcing candidates to balance campaign activities with the mourning period for the late senator.