Republican voters and politicians in South Carolina say Donald Trump has made a huge mistake by trying to convince voters to back Sen. Darline Graham in next week’s midterm Senate race.
Graham, a political novice who was parachuted in to fill the seat vacated by her late brother, Lindsey Graham, is in a surprisingly tight race against Democrat Annie Andrews and risks losing the Senate seat her elder sibling held for decades on Tuesday.
Despite South Carolina being a historically red state, with Trump winning it by 18 points in 2024, Republicans have pumped millions into Graham’s Senate race in an attempt to prevent a shock defeat. Trump has also appeared at campaign rallies in the Palmetto State twice this month to shore up support for the nepo senator.
“All the places we’re in trouble in the country, and he’s coming to Rock Hill, South Carolina,” Rep. Ralph Norman, who lost to the Trump-endorsed Graham in the GOP Senate primary, told The Washington Post about the president’s rally on Thursday. Norman also accused Graham of being a “propped-up candidate” who would simply do whatever Trump says.
Elizabeth Sturgis, a former supporter of Lindsey Graham, raised similar concerns about Darline Graham’s credentials and said she would support Andrews in the Nov. 3 election.
“I think she’ll be a rubber stamp for the Trump administration. I don’t think she’ll have an independent voice,” Sturgis told the Post.
For most of this year’s midterm cycle, Democrats didn’t consider the South Carolina Senate seat to be in play.
However, intense voter backlash against Trump’s presidency, combined with concerns about Graham’s credentials, means the seat could be among the red states that Democrats flip to seize control of the upper chamber.
This week, a New York Times/Siena poll of likely South Carolina voters found Graham and Andrews tied at 48 percent. On Thursday, Fox News’ forecast model also shifted the contest from “lean Republican” to “toss-up.”
Graham’s campaign has frequently been dogged by criticism of her lack of experience, including an embarrassing admission that she is “not that informed on national security,” as well as her avoidance of the press and campaigning.
“Darline—she is so over her head,” Denise Spreen, 77, told the Post. “She doesn’t even show up. Republicans in South Carolina had a couple other names to consider, and Trump shoved her down their throats.”
Former Republican South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said that while Republican voters might not back Andrews over Graham on Tuesday, they were expressing concerns about “competency and allegiance issues” involving the Trump-endorsed senator.
“They don’t like the idea of a puppet, somebody who will do as told by the president,” Sanford told MS NOW.
The Daily Beast has contacted Sen. Graham’s team for comment.
