Sen. Darline Graham wins GOP primary runoff to replace her late brother in US Senate

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Darline Graham won the Republican nomination to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham on South Carolina’s general election ballot.

Darline Graham defeated U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman in Tuesday’s special Republican primary runoff, two weeks after they were the top two finishers in a 10-way primary.

Despite being a political unknown, Darline Graham bested some of South Carolina’s top political names in the special election spun up after her brother’s sudden death last month. She was appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster to serve out the remaining months of her late brother’s current term and swiftly notched an endorsement from President Donald Trump, who encouraged her to enter the race for a full term and campaigned for her in the state last week.

Graham will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews in November.

On Monday, MAGA Inc., the super PAC that supports Trump and aligned Republicans — but that has spent little thus far on Trump's picks in this year's midterms — infused nearly $830,000 into Graham's campaign for voter calls and text message blasts.

Among the unknowns going into Tuesday was whether Trump's backing would be enough to boost the novice candidate with the famous last name, but whose political positions were previously unknown, across the finish line to the nomination.

After losing a top Senate advocate when Lindsey Graham died July 11, Trump angled to play a role in picking his successor.

Trump heralded the selection of Darline Graham to serve as her brother’s interim replacement as “a fabulous tribute.” He also urged her to run in the special primary, endorsing her before she’d made her candidacy official.

On Friday in Myrtle Beach, Trump reiterated that sentiment to a crowd of several thousand, encouraging people to vote for Graham to preserve tax cuts, among other things.

“I want it to happen,” he said. “Good luck, Darline.”

In forging a relationship with her, Trump could be angling to develop another ally to help steer his agenda through the Senate.

Throughout her brief campaign, Graham did just that. She repeatedly stressed to voters her intent to support Trump’s policy positions and often referenced in particular her co-sponsorship of a voting bill that’s become a key priority for the president.

Casting his ballot for Graham at an early voting location near Trump's rally site, Robert Tropiano said Friday that the president's backing for the candidate was enough to win his support.

“Trump wants her, he's doing a great job and I believe we should give him what he wants,” Tropiano said.

Fresh off his unsuccessful primary run for governor, Norman entered the Senate contest as one of several politicians more familiar to South Carolina voters. He snapped up endorsements from the likes of Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah, as well as former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint and Turning Point Action, the conservative youth movement founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

During the sprint to the runoff, Norman — one of the most conservative U.S. House members — frequently touted his experience in Washington and willingness to take unpopular stances. That includes at times challenging Trump, whose policies Norman has routinely supported in Congress. But Norman campaigned against Trump in the early part of the 2024 presidential primary, siding instead with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

A wealthy developer before he entered politics, Norman put some of his own fortune toward the campaign, including more than $1 million in the closing week.

Graham and Norman met for a single runoff debate, and there was one moment from the hourlong face-off that lived on.

Graham stumbled over a question about foreign policy — a signature issue of her late brother — when asked whether the U.S. has a national security interest in Taiwan and the South China Sea, a longstanding contention of both Democratic and Republican administrations.

She struggled to answer before admitting “national security is not my thing” and “I’m not that informed on national security.”

Graham avoided a direct response and instead mentioned her brother’s wealth of experience and her desire to focus on more domestic issues like affordability. Norman called Taiwan “a definite ally” when posed the same question, applauding Trump for “enabling Taiwan to defend themselves against China.” Afterward, he suggested Graham's answer showed her lack of qualifications for the office.

Some of that argument landed with Rock Hill voter Mike Sellers, who said that he voted Tuesday for Norman in part because Graham's experience level “wasn't really cutting it for me."

Sellers also said he wasn't swayed by the notion of supporting Graham as a tribute to her late brother.

“Just because her brother was senator doesn’t give her an easy pass in,” Sellers said. "If she wants to come next time around — maybe challenge (Sen.) Tim Scott — we’ll look at it then.”

No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in decades. When Graham last ran in 2020, he defeated his Democratic opponent by a 10 percentage point margin.

That contest was the most expensive in state history and among the country’s most expensive congressional races ever.

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Collins reported from Rock Hill, South Carolina.

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Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP