Republican voters in South Carolina are set to vote Tuesday in a runoff election to decide who will appear on the November ballot for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by the late Lindsey Graham. The race features Darline Graham, the late senator's sister, and U.S. Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC).
The runoff follows a primary contest that originally included 10 candidates. Following the initial vote two weeks prior, the field narrowed to Graham and Norman. President Donald Trump traveled to Myrtle Beach on Friday to hold a rally in support of Graham, whom he has endorsed as his preferred successor for the seat.
During a debate held last week and moderated by Greta Van Susteren, Graham stated she was "not that informed on national security" when asked about Taiwan and the South China Sea. Norman, who has served in Congress since 2017, critiqued the remark, stating that candidates must explain their positions. Graham defended her response as an honest acknowledgment of her status as a non-politician, a sentiment President Trump echoed by calling it a "very honest answer."
The scale of the election involves thousands of voters who participated in early in-person voting, which concluded on Friday. While the source does not provide specific dollar amounts for campaign spending, it notes that the race moved from a 10-person field to a runoff in just two weeks. This indicates a high-speed electoral process for a seat that represents more than 5 million South Carolina residents at the federal level.
South Carolinians will see the final impact of this race on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, when polls open to settle the nomination. The chosen candidate will then move toward the November general election, which will determine who holds one of the state's two votes in the U.S. Senate for the remainder of the term. The transition from the late Senator Graham to a new representative marks a shift in the state's federal representation, as voters weigh Norman's record in the House against Graham's endorsement from the current administration.