Overview
- Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham to her late brother’s Senate seat and she has announced she will run for a full term in the special election.
- Darline Graham met with President Trump in the Oval Office days after Lindsey Graham’s death and says he offered condolences and promised his “complete and total endorsement.”
- Her campaign has immediate financial help: Lindsey Graham’s committee holds more than $2 million and the super PAC that backed him has pledged roughly $900,000 to support her.
- Republican operatives warn she faces steep hurdles because she is largely unknown, the Graham name has mixed appeal among conservatives, and video showed staffers shielding her from questions about the SAVE America Act.
- The race is operating on an accelerated timetable with filing through July 28 and a Republican special primary on August 11, a schedule that makes rapid organizing, endorsements and outside spending decisive and recalls past South Carolina votes that rejected appointed successors.