Darline Graham faces battle for her brother's seat in South Carolina Senate primary
Republican voters in South Carolina return to the polls on Tuesday for the second time in two months to decide who will take the place of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham after his death in July created a vacancy on the party’s Senate ticket and sparked a rapid-fire campaign season.
Democrats face an uphill battle to try to flip the seat, which the Cook Political Report rates as solidly Republican.
Notable candidates aim to continue Graham's legacy, including his sister
Graham's sister Darline was appointed to the Senate to finish out his term the day after his passing, and then launched a bid for the full term after President Donald Trump endorsed her.
She has faced skepticism from some Republicans who have said they feel that she has been elevated as the party's preferred candidate when voters don't know much about her and thought she would just be a caretaker for the seat.
"There's a little bit of uneasiness about that whole process," John McGrath, the chair of South Carolina's Berkeley County Republican Party, told ABC News in early August. "Because at the end of the day, ultimately the people who are going to decide who the nominee is are the people of South Carolina, not D.C., not the consultants that run these big money [political action committees], organizations."
But Darline Graham, who had a close relationship with her brother and campaigned for him previously, has leaned into her status as a political outsider, saying that allows her to connect with Americans. She has also said she plans to be more focused on domestic issues and affordability than her brother, who heavily focused on national security and foreign affairs, and that she supports doing away with the Senate's legislative filibuster, which her brother supported keeping in place.
"I'm not a politician. I'm not a millionaire. I understand the average struggles of the American family," Graham told viewers during a debate in early August.
Darline Graham has served as commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, on the South Carolina State Workforce Development Board, and in other state roles. She also previously held roles with Clemson University, the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce and the South Carolina Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.
She has maintained that she'd be a staunch Trump supporter in the Senate, including on issues such as the Iran war and voting legislation.
"I completely support the president's agenda. I'm 100% behind him," she said during that same debate.
Chase Meyer, a political science professor at the University of South Carolina, told ABC News that Trump's endorsement of Darline Graham should stand to help her given how voters don't know much about her yet.
"Without that endorsement, it would be hard to tell how well she would do at all in this race," he said.
Darline Graham has not drawn many clear contrasts with other candidates in the race, including two U.S. representatives running for the seat: Ralph Norman and Russell Fry, both conservative stalwarts from South Carolina who have emphasized their support of the president even while running against his endorsed candidate.
Other notable candidates on the ballot include former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, whose tenure was marred by some controversy but who is attempting a political comeback after a stint in Congress; and businessman Mark Lynch, who ran against Lindsey Graham in June and notched around 30% of the vote.
If no candidate gets over 50% of the vote, then the top two vote-getters go to a runoff on Aug. 25.
Democrats eye a new matchup
Whoever wins the primary election or the potential runoff primary will face Democratic candidate Annie Andrews in November. Andrews, a pediatrician, previously ran in 2022 for the state’s 1st Congressional District and won the Democratic primary for Senate in June.
"No matter who emerges from the primary, my mission remains the same: lowering costs, protecting health care and fighting for South Carolina families," Andrews said in a statement to ABC News. "We have spent more than a year building a statewide grassroots campaign, and we are ready for November."
