{"id":34402,"date":"2026-08-09T10:58:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T05:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34402"},"modified":"2026-08-09T10:58:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T05:58:30","slug":"south-carolina-awaits-major-change-after-grahams-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=34402","title":{"rendered":"South Carolina awaits major change after Graham\u2019s death"},"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<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/08\/01\/Election_2_26_Senate_South_Carolina_91428_s1440x960.jpg?f72536d07237fdd262042ae8f5e6e6de3b865f3c\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> awaits a major change in its legislative representation after the death of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham<\/a>, a powerful senator known for his zealous advocacy of military intervention, as every Republican candidate promises to bring a more domestic focus to the job.<\/p>\n<p>His unexpected death triggered a competitive special GOP primary to be held Tuesday. The winner will advance to the November election against Democrat Annie Andrews in a state that hasn\u2019t elected a Democrat for U.S. Senate since 1998.<\/p>\n<p>Leading most polls is Graham\u2019s younger sister, newly minted Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/darline-graham\/\">Darline Graham<\/a>, 62. She had never held public office before Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/henry-mcmaster\/\">Henry McMaster<\/a>, a Republican, appointed her at President Trump\u2019s urging.<\/p>\n<p>She has inherited many of her brother\u2019s political assets \u2014 his Senate and campaign staff, the support of his Super PAC and the president\u2019s endorsement \u2014 but she has made clear she has different priorities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLindsey was probably much more focused on national security, and I know that\u2019s important, but I will probably be focused more on affordability,\u201d she recently told Fox News.<\/p>\n<p>She also has advocated overriding the Senate\u2019s 60-vote filibuster threshold, breaking from her brother\u2019s stance.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Graham faces a fight for the nomination and could be forced into a runoff if she does not receive more than 50% of the vote.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Mark Lynch, a businessman who won almost 29% of the vote in a primary challenge against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> in June, is running again and says he would be radically different than the late lawmaker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI break from Graham\u2019s interventionist record and endless spending by prioritizing America First, cracking down on foreign aid, slashing government waste, focusing hard on the rule of law and affordability for South Carolinians,\u201d Mr. Lynch told The Washington Times in a statement.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> state Rep. Jordan Pace said many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> Republicans have long wanted a change from Graham.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt least since 2014 there\u2019s been a sizable 20 to 30% of the electorate that was desperate to get anybody but him,\u201d said Mr. Pace, who supports Rep. Ralph Norman\u2019s bid.<\/p>\n<p>In the initial 2026 GOP primary on June 9, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> won handily, but more than 43% of voters chose one of several challengers.<\/p>\n<p>C.J. Westfall, who chairs the Dorchester County Republican Party, said voters valued Graham\u2019s charming personality and his \u201cability to bring home the bacon,\u201d \u201chelp with local projects\u201d and make the state \u201cpunch above its weight\u201d with his influence in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat they didn\u2019t like was a lot of times he would side with liberals\u201d on immigration, Supreme Court nominees and spending, said Mr. Westfall, who is not backing a candidate in the special primary.<\/p>\n<p>Also running is Rep. Russell Fry, 41, who won his seat in Congress in 2022 with Mr. Trump\u2019s backing against a congressman who voted to impeach him.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Fry also said he would not have Graham\u2019s level of focus on foreign policy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201dDomestic policy is really where I want to have a stamp,\u201d he said in an Aug. 3 debate, the only debate for the special primary. Mr. Fry listed energy production and lowering the cost of living as his priorities.<\/p>\n<p>A pro-Graham Super PAC is attacking Mr. Fry in an attempt to consolidate Trump-loyalist voters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCareer politician Russell Fry \u2014 rejected by President Trump. Fry selfishly put himself before President Trump and the MAGA movement,\u201d one ad stated.<\/p>\n<p>Two other candidates bring a high level of name recognition: Rep. Ralph Norman, 73, and Mark Sanford, 66, who served in the U.S. House and as governor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Both have made tackling the $39 trillion national debt the focus of their campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cForeign policy\u2019s important, but we\u2019ve got America to look after,\u201d Mr. Norman said in the debate. \u201cThe debt in our country is not sustainable. We can\u2019t have endless wars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Sanford told The Times his focus is \u201cfinancial sanity,\u201d citing his record as a fiscally hawkish governor and congressman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is unique is the way in which we were able to hold the line on government spending over my eight years as governor,\u201d he said, recalling his fights with the state Legislature in the early 2000s.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Sanford has positioned himself as the most independent of Mr. Trump in the race, mentioning how he was willing to oppose the White House push to drill for oil off the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> coast.<\/p>\n<p>The two feuded during Mr. Trump\u2019s first term, and Mr. Sanford lost his 2018 U.S. House primary after the president backed a challenger.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of urban legend to say we never got along. No, we agreed on most things,\u201d Mr. Sanford said. \u201cYou actually help the presidency if you have a diversity of different opinions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> Republican voters have an independent streak. In June, Mr. Trump\u2019s preferred candidate, Pamela Evette, lost in the gubernatorial primary.<\/p>\n<p>                        <a name=\"pagebreak\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can like the president and respect what he\u2019s doing with policy and in D.C. and disagree with who he recommends,\u201d Republican state Rep. April Cromer told The Times.<\/p>\n<section class=\"author-contact-section\">\n<\/section><\/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>South Carolina awaits a major change in its legislative representation after the death of Lindsey Graham, a powerful senator known for his zealous advocacy of military intervention, as every Republican candidate promises to bring a more domestic focus to the job. His unexpected death triggered a competitive special GOP primary to be held Tuesday. The&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/08\/01\/Election_2_26_Senate_South_Carolina_91428_c0-141-3375-2109_s1200x700.jpg?c1e54d4d310d76d2ba4962e81444043dcef636c3","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34402","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=34402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}