Graham wins GOP nod in South Carolina Senate primary runoff for late brother’s seat

Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) is projected to win the South Carolina Republican primary runoff to replace her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), on the November ballot, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Lindsey Graham, 71, died unexpectedly in early July after serving in the Senate for more than two decades — and after winning an initial June primary for renomination to the red state seat. Darline Graham, 62, was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) to fill the vacancy, and she’s now running for a full Senate term with support from President Trump.

Darline Graham on Tuesday defeated Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.) after the pair were the top two vote-getters in a crowded initial primary field , including former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, businessman Mark Lynch and Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman. Neither notched enough to win the Aug. 11 primary outright, forcing the race into a runoff.

Trump, who easily won South Carolina in each of his three elections, said he recommended Darline Graham as an interim replacement after Lindsey Graham’s passing, and later called on her to run for a full term. She placed first in the early August special election primary, but fell short of the margin needed to avoid a runoff against Norman.

Norman, though, was backed ahead of the runoff by Sanford, who generally refrains from offering political endorsements but said “the stakes are simply too high” for him to stay out of the contest.

In the fast-tracked special primary, rivals had criticized Darline Graham’s lack of experience as they flexed their alignment with the president.

“Look, the United States Senate is no place for on-the-job training,” Fry said at a late July debate, touting his own work in Congress. “I didn’t inherit a record; I earned it.”

Darline Graham has never served as an elected official, though she was close with her brother and a figure in his political life. Now the first woman and first graduate from a historically Black college and university (HBCU) to represent South Carolina in the Senate, she acknowledged at the debate that she’s “not a politician” and suggested that her ascension to the Senate is “part of God’s plan.”

After a stumble during another debate this month in which she acknowledged she is “not that informed on national security,” Darline Graham defended herself as “not a career politician” and snagged renewed support from Trump, who said “she’s very smart, and she was being honest.”

With the primary in the rear view, Darline Graham is on track to secure a full term in her late brother’s Senate seat. She’ll face off this fall against Democrat Annie Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician who won her party’s June primary. DDHQ considers the seat likely Republican.