Sen. Darline Graham, the sister of the late Lindsey Graham, placed first in the Republican primary to fill the powerful senator’s seat for a six-year term after his unexpected death.
Because she did not win an outright majority though, despite President Trump’s support, Tuesday night’s result sets up another battle for the political novice in two weeks’ time.
Ms. Graham now faces Rep. Ralph Norman, a hardline conservative who has spent a decade on Capitol Hill, making a name for himself as a fiscal hawk.
Mr. Norman claimed vindication in a statement, saying that he is the “proven conservative” in all capital letters for emphasis.
“Tonight, voters made it clear they want a proven conservative with a record of getting the job done on the ballot for the U.S. Senate, and as we advance to the runoff, that’s exactly what I’ll give them,” he said.
The special primary election gave Mr. Norman, who fell short in the June Republican gubernatorial primary, a chance to extend his career on Capitol Hill.
Ms. Graham came out on top over a crowded field of candidates that also included Rep., Russell Fry, businessman Mark Lynch and former Gov. Mark Sanford.
With 86% of the vote counted, Ms. Graham had 33% of the vote to Mr. Norman’s 24% and Mr. Fry’s 20%.
Mr. Sanford struggled outside of the Charleston area and Mr. Lynch, who already ran unsuccessfully against Ms. Graham’s older brother in June, placed in fifth.
Mr. Fry won his seat in Congress in 2022 with Mr. Trump’s backing against a congressman who had voted to impeach him and entered the race as pro-Trump candidate. But a pro-Graham super PAC attacked Mr. Fry in an attempt to consolidate Trump-loyalist voters.
The two remaining hopefuls will fight to consolidate the Republican electorate over the next two weeks.
Ms. Graham had never held prior elected office before Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, appointed her at Mr. Trump’s urging.
She has inherited many of her brother’s political assets — his Senate seat and campaign staff, the support of his super PAC and the president’s endorsement — but she has made clear she has different priorities.
“Lindsey was probably much more focused on national security, and I know that’s important, but I will probably be focused more on affordability,” she recently told Fox News.
She also has advocated overriding the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold, breaking from her brother’s stance.
When asked in the first of two debates how he would be different from Mr. Graham, Mr. Norman made a similar claim about foreign and domestic policy.
“Foreign policy’s important, but we’ve got America to look after,” he said “The debt in our country is not sustainable. We can’t have endless wars.”
South Carolina Republican voters have an independent streak. In June, Mr. Trump’s preferred candidate, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, lost the Republican gubernatorial runoff to Attorney General Alan Wilson.
The winner will advance to the November election against Democrat Annie Andrews.
However, South Carolina hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1998 or to any statewide elected office since 2006.
