Sen. Darline Graham won the Republican nomination for a full U.S. Senate term in South Carolina on Tuesday, defeating Rep. Ralph Norman in a special election primary runoff. Graham, who was appointed to the seat following the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, in July, received approximately 52.5% of the vote. The Associated Press called the race with 99% of results in, showing Graham with 193,396 votes to Norman's 175,327.
The runoff was necessitated after the initial special primary on August 11, where Graham received 33% and Norman received 25%, as no candidate reached the 50% threshold required to win outright. Following the death of Lindsey Graham from a heart condition, Governor Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham to serve the remainder of the current term. President Trump subsequently encouraged her to run for a full six-year term and provided an early endorsement that remained a central focus of her campaign.
During the runoff campaign, Graham emphasized her status as a political newcomer, having previously served as the commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. Norman, a five-term Congressman and member of the House Freedom Caucus, cited his legislative experience and characterized Graham as an "unknown candidate." The campaign drew national attention during a NewsMax debate when Graham stated she was "not that informed on national security" when asked about Taiwan and the South China Sea, a comment that drew boos from the audience.
The scale of the campaign was marked by significant outside spending. President Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., spent more than $827,000 on phone calls and text messages to support Graham. Conversely, Rep. Norman received over $700,000 in support from PACs aligned with former Governor Nikki Haley, while the solar industry spent $1 million on efforts to defeat him. For South Carolina voters, these expenditures translated into a high volume of campaign communications over a condensed two-week runoff period.
Graham’s victory marks a successful outcome for President Trump's endorsement strategy following several losses for his preferred candidates in states like Georgia and Minnesota earlier this year. The outcome sets the stage for the general election on November 3, 2026, where Graham will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician. Graham will continue to serve as the appointed incumbent until the current term ends in early 2027, at which point the winner of the November election will be sworn in for a full six-year term.