U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to fulfill her brother Lindsey Graham's term that ends in January, makes her pitch to voters at the U.S. Senate Stump Stop held at River Bluff High School in Lexington, South Carolina, on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. (Photo by Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — A month after the death of Lindsey Graham, his younger sister and a congressman advanced to a runoff for the chance to win the U.S. Senate for the next six years.
Sen. Darline Graham of Lexington led the 10-candidate field with about 33% of the votes when The Associated Press called it. Her lead held as vote-counting continued.
With roughly 24%, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman of Rock Hill will join her on the Aug. 25 ballot. He led in Upstate counties to pull ahead of U.S. Rep. Russell Fry, who led in the Grand Strand. Former Gov. Mark Sanford followed in fourth place, according to unofficial results.
In South Carolina, a primary runoff is required if no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes.
It’s been a whirlwind month.
The unexpected death July 11 of South Carolina’s senior senator triggered a tight timeline in state law to replace him on November ballots. Candidates began filing for the contest a week before his funeral services in Washington, D.C., and Columbia.
Darline Graham, who was frequently by her brother’s side but never a candidate herself, accepted Gov. Henry McMaster’s appointment to fulfill the term that expires in January. South Carolina’s first female U.S. senator was expected to be an honorary placeholder — until President Donald Trump shook up the field pre-filing by urging the newly sworn-in senator to run.
But his surprise “complete and total endorsement” of someone without a political record of her own didn’t stop Republicans from jumping into South Carolina’s first open U.S. Senate race in 22 years. Candidates with years of experience in the Statehouse and Capitol Hill criticized her as unproven and unknown.
“I didn’t inherit a record. I earned it,” Fry said during the state GOP debate last week.
Graham countered that she has experience, just not as a politician. She’s worked in state government for 28 years, the last seven leading the state Commission for the Blind.
On Monday, Trump doubled down on his endorsement, saying it’s what Lindsey Graham would’ve wanted.
“Darline’s gotten off to a great start,” he said during a call-in rally. He pointed to her votes enabling Todd Blanche to be sworn in Monday as U.S. attorney general as well as passage of sanctions against Russia as championed by her brother.
“She’s sort of a natural,” Trump said.
His tele-rally occurred hours after Joint Base Charleston was officially renamed in Lindsey Graham’s honor. Officials participating in the ceremonial unveiling in North Charleston included Sen. Darline Graham, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a South Carolina native, and McMaster.
Critics of Graham’s candidacy — and Trump’s decision — called it a case of political nepotism, saying South Carolinians don’t elect dynasties. But Graham is not the first South Carolina woman elected to fill a deceased family member’s seat.
She is, however, the first sister. The other women were widows. Lindsey Graham never married.
In the 20th century, four South Carolina women, all Democrats, were elected to finish serving their husband’s term in the U.S. House following his death. None, however, sought election to the next full term. Nationwide, 47 women have been elected or appointed to fill congressional vacancies created by the deaths of their husbands: eight to the U.S. Senate and 39 to the U. S. House, according to the Center for American Women and Politics.
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
