A month after burying her brother: Darlene Graham advances to the runoff and will run for the Senate
Exactly one month after the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, his sister Darlene Graham-Nordon has advanced to the runoff in the South Carolina Republican primary. She now faces a battle against Freedom Caucus member Ralph Norman.
Exactly one month after the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, his sister Darlene Graham-Nordon took a significant step this Wednesday on the path from temporary successor to elected senator. She advanced to the runoff in the South Carolina Republican primary, where she will face Representative Ralph Norman on August 25. The winner will compete in November against Democratic candidate Annie Andrews, a pediatrician.
The special primary followed an exceptionally fast campaign, in which Graham held a narrow lead in the polls. In the latest Trafalgar Group survey, Norman, Congressman Russell Fry, and former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford were within a single percentage point of each other.
"The last month has been brutal," Graham said after the results were clear. "Today is the 11th. My brother died exactly a month ago. None of this has been easy, but I am a fighter." She emphasized that in the last four weeks, she had buried her brother, assumed the role of a U.S. Senator, and navigated a grueling campaign schedule.
Graham admitted she had little time to mourn. When asked what she would say to Lindsey if he were by her side, she replied: "I think a lot about what I would have said to him. Right now, I think he would be very proud."
One of Graham's greatest assets is the support of President Donald Trump. "I want to thank President Trump. His steadfast support is very significant to me. He knows that I will stand by his side and fight for his agenda, just as Lindsey did," she stated. Graham also enjoys the backing of South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and Senate Republican Leader John Thune.
Her opponent, Ralph Norman, has served in the House of Representatives since 2017 and is the vice-chairman of the Freedom Caucus. He enters the runoff with significant political experience and an established field operation. Norman has promoted the Trump-backed "Save America Act," which requires proof of citizenship for voter registration, and has pushed to deny funding to cities that do not cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Graham, meanwhile, frames her lack of political experience as a strength. She highlights her tenure managing a state agency in South Carolina that helped the blind and visually impaired integrate into the workforce. "I took an agency that was struggling and turned it into a national model," she noted.
Her platform focuses on conservative priorities: support for Trump’s immigration policy, voter ID requirements, the right to bear arms, and abortion restrictions. She also spoke out against transgender participation in women's sports. Regarding immigration, she was sharp: "Joe Biden let 12 million illegal immigrants into this country. President Trump and I will get them back out."
With two weeks remaining until the runoff, Graham has confirmed her readiness to debate Norman and promised to tour South Carolina to meet as many voters as possible.
