Tim Scott ‘very confident’ Darline Graham will win runoff

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said Sunday he is “very confident” in Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) winning her GOP primary runoff for Senate in the Palmetto State this week.

During an appearance Sunday on “Meet the Press,” NBC News’s Kristen Welker pressed Scott on his level of confidence in Graham’s victory in the runoff, to which he said he was “very confident.”

“It’s one of the reasons why I waited 30 days to make sure that I felt like she was ready,” he said. “I can tell you, as the senior senator, for the great state of South Carolina, the person I want in the Senate with me, Darline Graham, representing the people of South Carolina. Easy choice.”

Earlier this month , the race to fill the seat on the November ballot went to a primary runoff, which occurs Tuesday, with Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman (R) battling it out for the GOP nomination.

Scott also said “there’s no doubt” Graham is qualified to be a senator despite a recent debate slip-up on an answer about national security.

“One other thing that’s really important: I watched her on the campaign trail. I watched her go through two funerals for her brother, and then I watched her carefully for 30 days in the Senate, casting deciding votes for the AG [attorney general], working on getting her first bill passed, the Russia sanctions bill. What did I assess? Highly qualified, incredibly competent, ready for primetime,” Scott said.

Last week, President Trump defended Graham after she said in a South Carolina GOP Senate primary debate that she was “not that informed on national security” but backed “the military.” The senator had been asked if Taiwan and the South China Sea are American national security issues.

“She’s very smart, and she was being honest. She’s into the price of groceries. … She is going to do what the military wants, and really what the president wants,” Trump said Friday before leaving for South Carolina to rally with Graham in Myrtle Beach.

Trump has endorsed Graham since she was appointed to finish her late brother’s, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), term.