Donald Trump has focused significant financial and political resources on a special Republican runoff election in South Carolina to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. The president is supporting Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to the seat in July by Gov. Henry McMaster, against Rep. Ralph Norman. The runoff, scheduled for Tuesday, serves as a measure of Trump’s influence following several recent losses by his endorsed candidates in other states.
Darline Graham, a former official at the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department and the Commission for the Blind, is the younger sister of the late senator but has not previously held or sought elected office. Trump urged her to run for the full term and held a rally for her in Myrtle Beach last week. Her opponent, Rep. Norman, has campaigned on his legislative experience and received support from former Governor Mark Sanford and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show that the Trump-aligned super PAC, MAGA Inc., spent $827,000 on text messages and phone calls to support Graham. This is part of a broader spending effort that includes over $6 million from outside groups such as Security is Strength PAC, Palmetto Action PAC, and American Mission PAC. In contrast, groups aligned with Nikki Haley have spent approximately $700,000 in support of Norman, including a $200,000 advertisement.
The scale of spending is significant for a snap primary, with outside groups investing more than $7.5 million combined to influence the GOP electorate in a single state. To put this in perspective, the $827,000 spent by MAGA Inc. alone represents a substantial portion of the PAC's resources that other Republican candidates in battleground states are also seeking for the general election. The heavy investment in Graham’s campaign reflects a strategy to solidify Trump’s influence within the Republican party ahead of the November midterms.
A victory for Graham would demonstrate that presidential endorsement can overcome a candidate's lack of experience and recent debate performance issues, such as her widely reported comments on foreign policy. Conversely, a win for Norman would reinforce the trend of voters favoring established "known quantity" candidates despite presidential opposition. Following the Tuesday runoff, the winner will proceed to the November ballot. The specific date for the general election and the identities of Democratic opponents were not reported.