By Kaia Hubbard, Caroline Linton
South Carolina Republicans will decide Tuesday who will replace Sen. Lindsey Graham on the ballot in November’s midterm election, after a rushed campaign in the wake of his sudden death in July.
Graham’s sister, Sen. Darline Graham, faces Rep. Ralph Norman in Tuesday’s runoff vote. The two candidates were the top two vote-getters in the special primary election on Aug. 11, with Darline Graham getting nearly 33% of the vote to Norman’s almost 25%, after neither won 50% of the vote.
The runoff contest comes after Darline Graham was appointed to serve out the remainder of her late brother’s term, which ends early next year. The four-term senator had been seeking reelection, and had already won the Republican primary in June.
The winner of Tuesday’s runoff will take on Dr. Annie Andrews, who won the Democratic primary in June. Although the South Carolina Senate race is usually a fundraising boon to Democrats, the state remains solidly Republican and has just one Democratic representative in Congress.
President Trump, who had been close with Lindsey Graham, has thrown his support behind Darline Graham. He campaigned for her in South Carolina last week and held a tele-rally for her on Monday. Darline Graham, who has no prior experience in elected office, has also garnered the support of South Carolina’s other senator, GOP Sen. Tim Scott, who said after her first few weeks in the Senate and her first-place finish in the primary that he’s “confident she’s the real deal.”
South Carolina Senate race between Darline Graham and Ralph Norman heads to runoff today
