One month after the veteran senator’s death, South Carolina Republicans return to the polls in an extraordinary race to choose their Senate nominee, Darline Graham Nordone, appointed to fill her brother’s seat and endorsed by President Donald Trump, is casting herself as a political outsider while facing two Republican congressmen and a former governor seeking a comeback.
South Carolina Republican voters return to the polls on Tuesday for the second time in two months, this time in a race no one expected: choosing the party’s nominee to succeed Sen. Lindsey Graham, whose death last month left both a vacant Senate seat and a significant void within the Republican Party.
At the center of the contest is Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham Nordone, who was appointed to the Senate one day after her brother’s death to serve out the remainder of his term. Soon afterward, she announced that she would seek a full term of her own, securing the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
Her path to the nomination, however, is far from guaranteed.
Some Republicans in South Carolina have expressed unease over what they see as the party establishment in Washington quickly coalescing around Graham Nordone as its preferred successor, even though many voters knew relatively little about her and initially expected her to serve only as a caretaker.
Graham Nordone has sought to turn her lack of traditional political experience into an advantage.
“I’m not a politician. I’m not a millionaire. I understand the average struggles of the American family,” she said during a debate earlier this month.
While she was close to her brother and previously campaigned on his behalf, Graham Nordone has also signaled that her tenure would not simply replicate his.
Lindsey Graham became one of the Senate’s most prominent voices on national security and foreign policy, as well as one of Israel’s most outspoken supporters in Congress. His sister has said she intends to place greater emphasis on domestic issues, particularly affordability and the economic pressures facing American families.
She has also broken with her brother on the Senate’s legislative filibuster, saying she supports eliminating it, while Lindsey Graham favored keeping it in place.
On one issue, however, Graham Nordone has left little room for ambiguity: her support for Trump.
“I completely support the president’s agenda. I’m 100% behind him,” she said.
She has also backed Trump’s policies regarding the war with Iran. The president’s endorsement could prove particularly valuable in a compressed campaign in which Graham Nordone has had little time to establish an independent political identity among voters.
She faces two sitting Republican members of Congress from South Carolina, Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry. Both are staunch conservatives who have emphasized their own support for Trump, despite running against the candidate he endorsed.
Also on the ballot is former South Carolina governor and congressman Mark Sanford, who is attempting a political comeback after a turbulent career in state and national politics.
Businessman Mark Lynch is also running after challenging Lindsey Graham in the June Republican primary and receiving roughly 30% of the vote.
The crowded field could prevent the race from being decided Tuesday night. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff on August 25.
The eventual Republican nominee will face Democratic candidate Annie Andrews in November. Andrews, a pediatrician who previously ran for Congress in 2022, won the Democratic Senate primary in June.
Democrats, however, face a steep challenge in a state where the Senate seat remains strongly Republican.
A month after the death of one of Washington’s most recognizable senators, South Carolina voters are therefore deciding more than who will carry the Republican banner in November. They are also deciding whether the Graham name – long synonymous with the state’s representation in Washington – will remain attached to the seat for another generation.