By Seanna Adcox
SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — A month after the death of Lindsey Graham, his younger sister advanced to a runoff against South Carolina’s 5th District congressman for the chance to succeed him in the U.S. Senate for the next six years.
Sen. Darline Graham led the 10-candidate field with about 33% of the votes when The Associated Press called it. Her lead held as vote-counting continued.
With almost 25% of the vote, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman will join her on the Aug. 25 ballot. He led in 10 Upstate counties to pull ahead of U.S. Rep. Russell Fry, who led in the Grand Strand and the rest of the 7th District he represents. Graham won the rest of the state.
Former Gov. Mark Sanford followed in fourth place, according to the state Election Commission’s unofficial results. (See sidebar below.) Just over 11% of registered voters participated in the special GOP primary.
In South Carolina, a primary runoff is required if no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes.
It was an emotional night, Graham told reporters, because her brother wasn’t there to celebrate with her.
“I know he’s looking down on me, smiling,” Graham said in a short speech after Norman was declared her runoff opponent.
It’s been a whirlwind month.
The unexpected death July 11 of South Carolina’s senior senator triggered a tight timeline in state law to replace him on November ballots. Candidates began filing for the contest a week before his funeral services in Washington, D.C., and Columbia.
Darline Graham, who was frequently by her brother’s side but never a candidate herself, accepted Gov. Henry McMaster’s appointment to fulfill the term that expires in January. South Carolina’s first female U.S. senator was expected to be an honorary placeholder — until President Donald Trump shook up the field pre-filing by urging the newly sworn-in senator to run.
But his surprise “complete and total endorsement” of someone without a political record of her own didn’t stop Republicans from jumping into South Carolina’s first open U.S. Senate race in 22 years. Norman and Fry, each with years of experience in the Statehouse and Capitol Hill, criticized her as unproven and unknown.
“I didn’t inherit a record. I earned it,” Fry said during the state GOP debate last week.
In thanking voters Tuesday night, Norman again pointed to his record.
“Voters made it clear they want a proven conservative with a record of getting the job done on the ballot for the U.S. Senate, and as we advance to the runoff, that’s exactly what we’ll give them,” he said in a statement.
The runoff pits a 62-year-old first-time candidate against a 73-year-old congressman who’s held elected office since 2004, when Norman first won a seat in the state House.
The Rock Hill developer has represented the 5th District since winning a special election in 2017. He opted to run for governor this year instead of re-election to the U.S. House but lost that bid in June.
Graham, of Lexington, has countered that she has experience, just not as a politician. She’s worked in state government for 28 years, the last seven leading the state Commission for the Blind.
On Monday, Trump doubled down on his endorsement, saying it’s what Lindsey Graham would’ve wanted.
“Darline’s gotten off to a great start,” he said during a call-in rally. He pointed to her votes enabling Todd Blanche to be sworn in Monday as U.S. attorney general as well as passage of sanctions against Russia as championed by her brother.
“She’s sort of a natural,” Trump said.
His tele-rally occurred hours after Joint Base Charleston was officially renamed in Lindsey Graham’s honor. Officials participating in the ceremonial unveiling in North Charleston included Darline Graham, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a South Carolina native, and McMaster.
Speaking to a small room of reporters Tuesday night, Graham again thanked the president for his endorsement and for asking her to run, as well as her family and her brother’s long-time staffers who committed to working for her.
“I decided to answer the call to serve because South Carolina and President Trump need a leader who is taught, principled and will fight to advance our conservative values in Washington,” she said.
The past month has been brutal, she said. She’s mourned while learning how to navigate the U.S. Senate and campaign for a full term.
In the last month, she’s faced criticism for not being available. The U.S. Senate adjourned Saturday for a month-long recess, which she opposed taking, saying senators needed to stay to pass the SAVE America Act, the first bill she co-sponsored.
She said Tuesday she plans to travel the state and talk to voters over the next two weeks.
“If you didn’t vote for me today, I will work to earn your vote in the runoff,” Graham said.
Critics of Graham’s candidacy — and Trump’s decision — called it a case of political nepotism, saying South Carolinians don’t elect dynasties. But Graham is not the first South Carolina woman elected to fill a deceased family member’s seat.
She is, however, the first sister. The other women were widows. Lindsey Graham never married.
In the 20th century, four South Carolina women, all Democrats, were elected to finish serving their husband’s term in the U.S. House following his death. None, however, sought election to the next full term. Nationwide, 47 women have been elected or appointed to fill congressional vacancies created by the deaths of their husbands: eight to the U.S. Senate and 39 to the U. S. House, according to the Center for American Women and Politics.
The winner of the Aug. 25 runoff will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.
Reporter Skylar Laird contributed to this report.
Seanna Adcox is a South Carolina native with three decades of reporting experience. After covering the S.C. Legislature and state politics for 18 years. she launched the S.C. Daily Gazette in November 2023 as the 37th state affiliate under the States Newsroom umbrella. Her previous employers include The Post and Courier and The Associated Press.
S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.