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Darline Graham enters race
Sen. Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, announced Monday that she will seek a full six-year term in the U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity, “I’ve made a decision,” and “I’m in.”
Graham’s bid follows President Donald Trump’s urging on Truth Social, where he wrote, “RUN, DARLINE, RUN!” and said she would have his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to seek the nomination.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham to fill the remainder of her brother’s term, which ends in January, and she was sworn in last week to become the first woman to represent South Carolina in the Senate.
The special Republican primary to select the nominee for the November general election is set for Aug. 11, with a filing period that opens Tuesday and closes on July 28, according to the AP and NBC News accounts.
Lindsey Graham died July 11 at age 71, and the medical examiner’s preliminary report cited a tear in his aorta, with NBC News describing a preliminarily diagnosed rupture of his aorta due to a hardening of his arteries.
Trump, Hannity, and rivals
In her interview with Hannity, Darline Graham said she had been “praying a lot” and navigating the decision with “the love of my family” and “the support of his staff,” adding, “I feel like I can do it.”
The AP reported that Trump’s endorsement and Darline Graham’s entry “further complicates an already rushed process,” as a weeklong filing period opens Tuesday for the special Republican primary that will be Aug. 11.
NBC News listed other GOP candidates already in the Aug. 11 race, including South Carolina Republican Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman and businessman Mark Lynch, who lost to Lindsey Graham in the June Republican primary.
The Hill reported that Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday he will not endorse a candidate in the primary, while Sen. Tom Cotton backed Graham shortly after Fox News shared part of her Hannity interview.
NBC News also quoted Rep. Nancy Mace saying she would not seek the Senate seat, telling voters, “I’m not running for the U.S. Senate, not because I’m backing down from a fight, but because the one I’m already in matters now.”
What’s at stake next
The race is set to determine who will appear on the November ballot for the seat held by Lindsey Graham, and the AP said the winner of the Aug. 11 special Republican primary will replace him for the full term.
“Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham's sister, says she will run for full Senate term Her announcement comes after President Trump endorsed her for a full term”
NBC News reported that the winner will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November, while Scripps News noted that Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate race in South Carolina since Fritz Hollings was reelected in 1998.
Scripps News also described how South Carolina set a July 28 filing deadline for candidates seeking to enter the Aug. 11 primary, and it said several Republicans have been mentioned as potential candidates for the seat.
The Hill added that early voting in the GOP primary runs Aug. 5-7, and if no candidate receives a simple majority, the top two vote-getters advance to a runoff set for Aug. 25.
Beyond the campaign timeline, the sources tied the stakes to Lindsey Graham’s legacy and the transition of power, with Scripps News quoting Trump’s Truth Social message that Darline Graham shares his “deep love of our Country, and the State of South Carolina.”
