{"id":40139,"date":"2026-08-12T05:36:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T00:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=40139"},"modified":"2026-08-12T05:36:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T00:36:39","slug":"south-carolina-republicans-hold-primary-to-pick-senate-replacement-for-the-late-lindsey-graham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=40139","title":{"rendered":"South Carolina Republicans hold primary to pick Senate replacement for the late Lindsey Graham"},"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\/11\/Election_2_26_South_Carolina_Senate_89397_s1440x960.jpg?f72536d07237fdd262042ae8f5e6e6de3b865f3c\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>COLUMBIA, S.C. \u2014 Just two months after nominating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> to return to the U.S. Senate, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> Republicans cast ballots Tuesday in a special primary to pick a replacement following the sudden death of the president\u2019s close ally.<\/p>\n<p>Graham\u2019s sister, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/darline-graham\/\">Darline Graham<\/a>, a political unknown tapped to serve the final months of her brother\u2019s term, sought to overcome skepticism about her lack of experience in her campaign to replace him. She picked up President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> swift endorsement though the rare open Senate seat has attracted a broad field, including some of the state\u2019s top Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>For decades, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> voters reliably returned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> to Washington despite periodic primary challengers who accused the dealmaker and foreign policy hawk of being insufficiently conservative.<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday\u2019s contest featured one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham\u2019s<\/a> earlier foes, as well as two U.S. House members and Mark Sanford, the former governor and congressman seeking a political comeback in a field crowded with familiar faces. Polls closed at 7 p.m. EDT, and the top two candidates could be headed to a runoff in two weeks if no one clears a majority of the votes cast Tuesday.<\/p>\n<h3>Will goodwill toward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> boost his sister at the polls?<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> died July 11 after suffering a tear in his aorta at his Washington home.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/multimedia\/collection\/south-carolina-republicans-hold-2026-4\/\" target=\"_blank\">PHOTOS: South Carolina Republicans hold primary to pick Senate replacement for the late Lindsey Graham<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\"\/>\n<p>Before funeral observances in Washington and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> had even concluded, the campaign was on. State law proscribed a compressed timeline that forced candidates to navigate the decorum of mourning the senator\u2019s death while jockeying to replace him.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>A day after Graham\u2019s death was announced, his sister accepted Republican Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/henry-mcmaster\/\">Henry McMaster\u2019s<\/a> appointment to succeed her brother in an interim capacity and was sworn in with her family and the late senator\u2019s staff standing behind her.<\/p>\n<p>A week later, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/darline-graham\/\">Darline Graham<\/a> launched into the campaign herself, encouraged to run and then endorsed by Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Some voters said her brother\u2019s reputation helped tilt them to support <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/darline-graham\/\">Darline Graham<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s not a politician, but she was kin to probably one of the greatest senators ever,\u201d Frank Bohn of Horry County said.<\/p>\n<p>While <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/darline-graham\/\">Darline Graham<\/a> couldn\u2019t directly access the millions in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham\u2019s<\/a> campaign account, there was no limit to how much could be transferred to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which funded advertising to support her.<\/p>\n<p>A super PAC that once supported <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> has also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars backing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/darline-graham\/\">Darline Graham<\/a>. Mailers tout her as \u201cPresident Trump\u2019s choice\u201d and \u201cPrepared to Carry on Lindsey\u2019s Legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Two congressmen are among those seeking the nomination<\/h3>\n<p>More familiar to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> voters in their own right are two U.S. House members in the race, one of whom already has a statewide profile.<\/p>\n<p>Fresh off an unsuccessful primary run for governor, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman entered the Senate contest and snapped up endorsements from the likes of Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most conservative House members, Norman is well-known across <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> as a fiscal conservative. At times, however, he\u2019s been at odds with Trump, backing former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 presidential primary.<\/p>\n<p>Also running is Rep. Russell Fry, who appeared poised to gain Trump\u2019s backing after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham\u2019s<\/a> death. Despite lacking the president\u2019s endorsement, he announced his own candidacy and has been trying to boost his name recognition beyond his pro-Trump, Myrtle Beach-area district.<\/p>\n<p>Voter George Mitford said Fry\u2019s service stood out to him over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/darline-graham\/\">Darline Graham<\/a>, who hasn\u2019t been in elected office.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just thought he\u2019d probably had more experience in this than she would have had,\u201d Mitford said, adding that he had supported <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/lindsey-graham\/\">Lindsey Graham\u2019s<\/a> Senate tenure.<\/p>\n<h3>Mark Sanford seeks another political comeback<\/h3>\n<p>The former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> congressman and governor whose political ascendency was stalled by a 2009 extramarital affair is making yet another attempt to return to public office.<\/p>\n<p>Sanford\u2019s Senate bid comes just three months after he ended an effort to retake his former U.S. House seat, saying then he was quitting the race to establish a nonprofit to address the national debt, his signature issue.<\/p>\n<p>Sanford had entered that contest on the last day of filing in a race already full of other Republicans. He\u2019s been crisscrossing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a>, reintroducing himself to voters after more than a decade out of statewide office.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Lynch, a Greenville businessman who tried to oust Graham in last month\u2019s regular Republican primary, swiftly relaunched his campaign after Graham\u2019s death. Lynch has campaigned as a Trump supporter, but in June, the president on social media called him a \u201clunatic\u201d and a \u201cdisaster for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/republican-party\/\">Republican Party<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Who is the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat?<\/h3>\n<p>Dr. Annie Andrews, a Charleston physician, won her party\u2019s June primary outright. Having set up her campaign based around challenging Graham, Andrews has been forced to pivot to a broader critique of the Republican contenders.<\/p>\n<p>No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat here in decades. And when Graham last ran in 2020, he defeated his Democratic opponent, Jaime Harrison, by a 10 percentage point margin.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>Meg Kinnard can be reached at http:\/\/x.com\/MegKinnardAP<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>                        <a name=\"pagebreak\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Collins reported from Mount Pleasant, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"permission\" style=\"padding-top: 25px;\">\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 The Washington Times, LLC.\n                        <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/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>COLUMBIA, S.C. \u2014 Just two months after nominating Lindsey Graham to return to the U.S. Senate, South Carolina Republicans cast ballots Tuesday in a special primary to pick a replacement following the sudden death of the president\u2019s close ally. Graham\u2019s sister, Darline Graham, a political unknown tapped to serve the final months of her brother\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/08\/11\/Election_2_26_South_Carolina_Senate_89397_c0-102-2456-1534_s1200x700.jpg?e7d32012f2d6ce6dc4a57579b31795fbd0d9530f","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40139","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\/40139","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=40139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}