Trump-Backed Graham Faces Norman in SC Runoff
Trump-Backed Graham Faces Norman in SC Runoff
The News
South Carolina Republicans vote Tuesday in a U.S. Senate special primary runoff between appointed Sen. Darline Graham, who carries President Donald Trump's endorsement, and Rep. Ralph Norman, who is backed by former Gov. Nikki Haley and House Freedom Caucus allies.
The seat opened when Sen. Lindsey Graham died July 11. Gov. Henry McMaster appointed his sister, Darline Graham, to serve out the term, and she is now running for the full six-year seat.
Neither candidate cleared 50% in the special primary two weeks ago, forcing the runoff.
Timeline
Sen. Lindsey Graham dies. He had won a June primary against five challengers, beating second-place finisher Mark Lynch 56.8%-28.9%, while bidding for a fifth term.
Gov. Henry McMaster appoints Darline Graham to fill the remainder of the term in the 119th Congress, which ends Jan. 1. She decides to seek the six-year term on the Nov. 3 ballot.
In the special primary, Graham takes 32.8% — 109,881 of 335,693 votes cast — and Norman finishes second at 24.6%, or 82,627 votes. Rep. Russell Fry takes 19.7% and former Gov. Mark Sanford 14.9%. Turnout is 11.1% of more than 3 million eligible voters. Norman carries Greenville County, the state's most populous.
At a debate in Columbia, Graham is asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security threats to the United States and answers, "National security is not my thing."
Trump appears with Graham at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, joined by Sen. Tim Scott and Rep. Russell Fry. McMaster also endorses her that day.
Early in-person voting ends.
Reactions
Graham did not walk back the debate answer. "I'm just gonna be honest here, I'm not that informed on national security, so … but I do support the military," she said. Pressed further, she said, "I fully trust President Trump when it comes to the war in Iran," adding that "Iran is the weakest they have been in 47 years" and "we cannot let them get a nuclear weapon."
She also drew a contrast with voters' priorities: "They're worried about their pocketbooks more than they're worried about the South China Sea, quite honestly."
Norman pounced. "This isn't a get training on the job, you can't do that," he said.
Trump defended her, according to CNN, saying "she's very smart, and she was being honest. She's into the price of groceries … and [national security] hasn't been her thing, but she's surrounded by very good people." He added: "She understands that national security is my thing."
The race has split the pro-life movement. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and National Right to Life endorsed Graham, even though Norman holds a 100% legislative rating from SBA Pro-Life America. Randy Page, a former board member of South Carolina Citizens for Life who resigned after the group endorsed Graham, told the Daily Signal the decisions weren't "made in South Carolina." He said: "Decisions regarding federal candidates are made in Washington, DC. Pro-life voters expect pro-life organizations to endorse principled, pro-life candidates who have a legislative record promoting and supporting pro-life policies." He called the endorsements "baffling to rank-and-file pro-life voters throughout South Carolina."
What's Next
Polls close Tuesday. The winner faces Democrat Annie Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician, and Libertarian Kasie Whitener on Nov. 3.
The winner will be heavily favored. No Democrat has represented South Carolina in the U.S. Senate since Fritz Hollings retired in 1998.
Republicans hold the Senate at 53 seats. This is one of 33 seats in regular rotation in the 2026 midterms, plus two special elections, with races in North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Maine, Iowa, New Hampshire, Alaska, Texas and Montana expected to decide whether Trump's agenda stalls in the chamber.
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Trump's endorsement record is part of the subplot. Ballotpedia puts his 2026 primary endorsement success rate at 96%; Wire's tally of the losses counts 10 Trump-endorsed candidates defeated in primaries this year. One of them was in South Carolina: his pick for governor, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, lost a runoff to four-term Attorney General Alan Wilson 68.6%-31.4%, with more than 318,000 votes cast.
Norman ran in that governor's race too and lost the June primary before entering the Senate contest.
Both candidates back the SAVE America Act, the voter identification bill Trump has pushed. Norman wrote on X that passing it should be the Senate's first order of business after the August recess: "Get back to Washington, pass the SAVE America Act." Graham has said she would stay in Washington "as long as necessary" to pass it and, at Friday's rally, said she supports eliminating the filibuster to get it done.
Graham's other endorsements include Sens. Tom Cotton, Katie Britt and John Barrasso. Norman's include Sens. Rick Scott and Mike Lee, Freedom Caucus members Reps. Mark Harris and Keith Self, and former Govs. Nikki Haley and Mark Sanford.
Talking Points Memo reports Norman carries his own liability: a 2021 text urging then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to invoke what Norman called "Marshall Law" to block certification of Joe Biden's win.
Lindsey Graham built his career on national security and foreign policy — the timing of his funeral was arranged around the schedules of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
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