{"id":17573,"date":"2026-07-26T07:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T02:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=17573"},"modified":"2026-07-26T07:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T02:48:18","slug":"nancy-mace-questions-if-darline-graham-qualifies-for-sc-senate-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=17573","title":{"rendered":"Nancy Mace questions if Darline Graham qualifies for SC Senate ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div id=\"beyondwords-wrapper\" data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"beyondwords-wrapper\">\n<p><span class=\"label-bg\">NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is questioning whether President <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7575495\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Donald Trump&#8217;s<\/a> preferred candidate to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham \u2014 his sister, Darline Graham \u2014 is even eligible to appear on South Carolina&#8217;s Republican primary ballot.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">&#8220;She has no record and I&#8217;m not even sure that she&#8217;s qualified to be on the ballot,&#8221; Mace told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Her comments come as Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., announced on Fox News that she will enter next month\u2019s special primary election to run for a full term in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7575496\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/darline-graham-reveals-trump-told-oval-office-after-brother-lindsey-death\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>DARLINE GRAHAM REVEALS WHAT TRUMP TOLD HER INSIDE OVAL OFFICE AFTER BROTHER LINDSEY&#8217;S DEATH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/343\/192\/darline-graham-nordone-lindsey-graham-death.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/686\/384\/darline-graham-nordone-lindsey-graham-death.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/672\/378\/darline-graham-nordone-lindsey-graham-death.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1344\/756\/darline-graham-nordone-lindsey-graham-death.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/931\/523\/darline-graham-nordone-lindsey-graham-death.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1862\/1046\/darline-graham-nordone-lindsey-graham-death.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/720\/405\/darline-graham-nordone-lindsey-graham-death.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1440\/810\/darline-graham-nordone-lindsey-graham-death.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1200\/675\/darline-graham-nordone-lindsey-graham-death.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Newly-appointed U.S. interim Senator Darline Graham Nordone, right, with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., left, speaks during a press conference announcing her appointment to fill the vacancy created by the passing of her brother, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, at the statehouse Monday, July 13, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo\/Sean Rayford)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Newly-appointed U.S. interim Senator Darline Graham Nordone, right, with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., left, speaks during a press conference announcing her appointment to fill the vacancy created by the passing of her brother, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, at the statehouse Monday, July 13, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo\/Sean Rayford)<\/span> <span>(\u00a0)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Obviously I feel for her and losing Lindsey Graham \u2014 the entire state is mourning right now,&#8221; Mace said of Graham.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;It&#8217;s admirable and honorable what she&#8217;s done to take the wings for the next six months, but she has no records and I am not even sure she&#8217;s qualified to be on the ballot,&#8221; she repeated.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Mace isn\u2019t alone in her concerns over <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7575497\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/trump-may-have-endorsed-darline-graham-gop-senate-hopefuls-arent-backing-down\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Graham\u2019s qualifications<\/a> to serve a full-term. Local South Carolina GOP Chairman CJ Westfall said in a statement that he is pursuing a formal determination of whether Graham meets the party\u2019s qualifications to run.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">He said the request followed conversations with local voters about Graham\u2019s qualifications, including concerns over her lack of political experience and her voting record \u2014 concerns Mace shares.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;It&#8217;s not clear that she&#8217;s voted in enough Republican primary elections to be on the ballot,&#8221; Mace said when asked why Graham may not be qualified.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7575498\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/mace-snubs-trumps-preferred-senate-candidate-backs-ralph-norman-instead\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>MACE SNUBS TRUMP&#8217;S PREFERRED SENATE CANDIDATE, BACKS RALPH NORMAN INSTEAD<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/343\/192\/nancy-mace-capitol-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/686\/384\/nancy-mace-capitol-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/672\/378\/nancy-mace-capitol-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1344\/756\/nancy-mace-capitol-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/931\/523\/nancy-mace-capitol-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1862\/1046\/nancy-mace-capitol-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/720\/405\/nancy-mace-capitol-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1440\/810\/nancy-mace-capitol-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1200\/675\/nancy-mace-capitol-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Rep. Nancy Mace walking outside the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., departs the U.S. Capitol after a series of House votes on funding for Homeland Security and a War Powers resolution on Iran on March 5, 2026, in Washington, D.C.<\/span> <span>(Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;By new state election laws of July of this year, you had to have voted in the last two of the last three <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7575499\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/elections\/state-and-local-primaries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Republican primaries<\/a> and it&#8217;s not clear she has.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Mace has instead chosen to endorse Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., for the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7575500\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/senate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Senate<\/a> seat.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;He&#8217;s a tried-and-true conservative,&#8221; Mace said. &#8220;He doesn&#8217;t bend, he does not back down, and he has a 100% conservative voting record.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get a conservative into the U.S. Senate in this seat. We&#8217;re not going to have this opportunity again in a while.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7575501\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/rep-ralph-norman-enters-south-carolina-senate-race-despite-trumps-endorsement-tim-scott\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>REP RALPH NORMAN ENTERS SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE DESPITE TRUMP&#8217;S ENDORSEMENT OF DARLINE GRAHAM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/343\/192\/ralph-norman-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/686\/384\/ralph-norman-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/672\/378\/ralph-norman-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1344\/756\/ralph-norman-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/931\/523\/ralph-norman-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1862\/1046\/ralph-norman-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/720\/405\/ralph-norman-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1440\/810\/ralph-norman-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1200\/675\/ralph-norman-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Rep. Ralph Norman\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., talks with reporters after a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, February 5, 2025<\/span> <span>(Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Mace herself was widely considered a likely candidate to enter the race for the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7575502\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/republicans-defy-trump-jump-south-carolina-senate-race-despite-his-handpicked-successor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">South Carolina Senate seat<\/a>, but she announced Monday that she would not run.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Trump, regardless of any doubts of qualifications, threw in his <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7575503\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/trump-pushes-lindsey-grahams-sister-run-us-senate-after-she-gets-appointment-finish-out-term\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">endorsement for Graham<\/a> to seek a full-term seat, posting to Truth Social after a White House meeting with her, &#8220;run, Darline, run.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">While Trump\u2019s endorsements have oftentimes been the winners of their respective primaries, Mace isn\u2019t sold on the idea that Trump\u2019s pick will influence South Carolina voters heavily.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;I think that you&#8217;ll see that South Carolina voters seem to be a little more\u2026 they&#8217;re conservative, but they&#8217;re also independent,&#8221; Mace said. &#8220;Independent conservatives.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;They vote the way that they wanna vote, not because someone told them to. And I think you&#8217;ll see that in this race.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p>Hannah is a Production Assistant for the Politics team at Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is questioning whether President Donald Trump&#8217;s preferred candidate to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham \u2014 his sister, Darline Graham \u2014 is even eligible to appear on South Carolina&#8217;s Republican primary ballot. &#8220;She has no record and I&#8217;m not even sure that she&#8217;s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/mace-trump-darline-graham-split.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}