A Reluctant Heir Races the Clock in South Carolina
Darline Graham says she had never considered running for a full six-year Senate term. Shortly after being sworn in to finish her late brother Lindsey Graham's term, she went to the Oval Office to press President Donald Trump to back Lindsey Graham's Russia sanctions bill. She told Trump he could blame a grieving sister for any fallout. Trump laughed, called her tough, and then asked her to run for the full term.
"It’s just been absolutely brutal," Graham told The Wall Street Journal, describing the loss of her brother followed by three elections in a span of months. Appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster after Lindsey Graham died in July, she defeated Rep. Ralph Norman in an Aug. 25 runoff with 52.5 percent of the vote, then pivoted immediately to Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician and gun safety advocate.
Public and internal polls show Graham tied with or trailing Andrews, making South Carolina competitive in a way it has not been for decades. A New York Times/Siena poll conducted Oct. 19-26 among 707 likely voters put both candidates at 48 percent, with a margin of error of 4.3 points. An East Carolina University poll conducted Oct. 19-24 showed Graham ahead 51 percent to 47 percent, with a credibility interval of 3.7 points. Among unaffiliated voters, Andrews led 57 percent to 37 percent.
Money explains part of the alarm. Federal Election Commission filings through Oct. 14 showed Graham raising $1.2 million compared with $23.8 million for Andrews. In the first two weeks of October, Graham raised less than $600,000 while Andrews raised $4.5 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Senate Leadership Fund, the main Republican super PAC, put $5 million into the race, a sign of party concern in a state Trump carried by about 17 points two years ago. The American Mission super PAC reported nearly half a million dollars in texts and advertising for Graham in September filings.
Five days before the election, Republicans remained fractured, The Washington Post reported. Norman said he would vote for Graham but would not campaign with her, and former Gov. David Beasley was among prominent state Republicans endorsing Andrews. One House Republican called the closeness "embarrassing," noting Republicans had won the seat by 18 points before. A South Carolina Republican, Westfall, told CNN that Lindsey Graham used to campaign, knock doors, and write checks for down-ballot candidates, adding: "Her campaign has kind of disappeared."
Graham, a first-time candidate with no prior elected-office experience, conceded in an August primary debate: "I'm not that informed on national security." In the Times/Siena survey, 51 percent of voters, including 18 percent of Republicans, said she did not have the right experience to be an effective senator. By contrast, 54 percent, including 22 percent of Republicans, said Andrews did. A majority said Andrews would do a better job handling the economy, and she led 49 percent to 46 percent on who would do what is best for ordinary South Carolinians.
Trump traveled to South Carolina twice in two weeks, returning to Rock Hill — Norman's backyard — to rally for Graham. Trump later halted most of the sanctions, The Wall Street Journal wrote, leaving Graham privately disappointed. Her fate in South Carolina is now tied to the president's. She opposes abortion rights, says she fully trusts Trump on tariffs and the war with Iran, and argues that people in the country illegally should be deported immediately. With the midterms days away, the race has become a referendum on Trump's second term and a test of whether a famous name can offset inexperience.