Ten Republican candidates are competing in South Carolina's special primary election on Tuesday to replace the late US senator Lindsey Graham, compressing a typical year-long campaign into roughly two weeks. The winner of the primary will face Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, in November's general election.
Graham's sister, Darline Graham, who was appointed interim senator after her brother's sudden death on 11 July, is among the candidates. She has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, who also recommended her for the appointment. If no candidate secures an overall majority, the top two will advance to a runoff on 25 August, which polling suggests is the most likely outcome.
Retail politics on a compressed timeline
Campaign events have been held across the state, from diners to church halls and recreation centers. On Friday, Republican representative Russell Fry campaigned at Savage Craft Ale Works in West Columbia. On Monday morning, Darline Graham shook hands at Lizard's Thicket breakfast restaurant, two miles away. Former governor Mark Sanford and US representative Ralph Norman were also in Aiken on Friday, according to Eaddy Roe Willard, a longtime Republican activist in Richmond county.
"You know, South Carolina politics is very local," Willard said. "Something one of our former chairmen used to say about presidential candidates: we don't decide whether or not we're gonna vote for you until we've had a chance to shake your hand at least three times."
The compressed election cycle complicates the retail politics South Carolina voters are accustomed to, said Frank Tiller, chair of the Spartanburg county Republican party. "There are not enough people that know the candidates. Everybody's calling around trying to find out who to vote for, because they don't know the candidates," Tiller said.
Trump's endorsement and local independence
Darline Graham has spent decades as a public administrator and disability advocate, serving as commissioner of the South Carolina commission for the blind from 2019 to 2026. She also has her brother's considerable state political apparatus behind her. However, Trump's endorsement is important but not decisive, according to Tiller. "It's very important, but a lot of people are saying Donald Trump does not know South Carolina politics," Tiller said. "South Carolina politics is different from a lot of places. Everybody here is fiercely independent."
Graham's main rivals include Norman, who has served in the US House since 2017, representing a district covering the southern suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina. A wealthy real estate developer and prominent member of the House Freedom Caucus, Norman ran unsuccessfully for governor earlier this year, and his campaign infrastructure remained largely intact when Graham died.
Fry represents Myrtle Beach and South Carolina's conservative eastern border. An attorney, Fry rose from the state legislature after successfully challenging former US representative Tom Rice in the 2022 GOP primary. Rice was one of ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the January 6 insurrection. Trump endorsed Fry and campaigned against Rice. Both Fry and Norman have campaigned as fiscal hawks, highlighting culture war issues.
Other notable candidates
Sanford is a household name in South Carolina politics, having served as governor and in two separate stints in the US House. He briefly challenged Trump in the 2020 Republican presidential primaries and made headlines as governor after disappearing for a week, ostensibly on an Appalachian Trail hiking trip, when he was instead having an extramarital affair in Argentina.
Lindsey Graham had faced a handful of primary challengers on 9 June, the most successful of which – businessman Mark Lynch – is campaigning for a second time this year as a conservative outsider with a populist platform. The winner of Tuesday's primary will face Annie Andrews in November, with the Republican nominee expected to have a strong advantage in the traditionally conservative state.
