Darline Graham, Ralph Norman Advance to SC Senate Runoff
The appointed senator failed to win Tuesday's crowded Republican special primary outright and will face the congressman on August 25, according to race calls by The Associated Press.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Sen. Darline Graham, appointed last month to serve out the remainder of her late brother's term, fell short of winning Tuesday's Republican special primary outright and will meet Rep. Ralph Norman in an August 25 runoff, according to race calls by The Associated Press.
Graham was appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster to complete the term of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and was endorsed by President Trump. In her first weeks in Washington she voted on the confirmation of Attorney General Todd Blanche and on a bill long championed by her brother to sanction buyers of Russian oil and gas.
"This campaign schedule has been absolutely brutal," Graham told reporters Saturday in Florence, S.C. "But you know what, I'm still standing, I'm still going and that shows you how strong I am."
At a tele-rally Monday, Trump called her the best candidate to advance his agenda. "She looks so nice, but she's actually tough and strong, and she's the perfect person to carry on Lindsey's legacy," he said.
Graham said she would concentrate on the cost of living. "He was more of an expert on the federal budget," she said of her brother. "I know the family struggles so I'm an expert on the family budget."
Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus who has served in the House since 2017 and finished third in the state's June Republican gubernatorial primary, campaigned as a fiscal conservative. "The Senate is the body where good bills die," he said after a campaign event this month, pledging to back "the president's agenda, America First agenda." He has been endorsed by Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida.
Rep. Russell Fry, who has fended off claims that he is not sufficiently loyal to Trump, argued that "more choices let the conservative movement thrive." Former Gov. Mark Sanford, who last week brought piglets named Pork and Barrel into the Statehouse lobby to protest spending, trailed Fry in returns Tuesday night.
The State Election Commission said 61,000 Republicans voted early over three days last week.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.
