Sen. Darline Graham advances to primary runoff in S.C. special GOP primary election – One America News Network

OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
8:56 AM – Tuesday, August 12, 2026

U.S. Senator Darline Graham has advanced to a primary runoff in South Carolina’s special Republican primary election, emerging from a crowded ten-candidate field to contend for the full Senate term previously held by her late brother, Lindsey Graham.

The vote took place amid a whirlwind political campaign following Lindsey Graham’s sudden death at age 71 from an aortic dissection, which triggered a condensed special primary season to select a replacement GOP nominee for the November ballot.

Graham, a longtime public administrator and former commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, was appointed by Governor Henry McMaster (R-S.C.) to temporarily fill the vacancy.

In doing so, she became the first woman to represent South Carolina in the United States Senate and the first sibling in U.S. history appointed to succeed a brother.

Despite entering the race as a political newcomer who had not previously held elected office, Graham secured the key endorsement of President Donald Trump and drew heavily on her late brother’s robust political apparatus across the state.

The high-stakes Republican contest attracted a broad array of prominent conservative figures vying for the rare open seat, creating an intense test of Trump’s influence over the state’s primary electorate.

The field featured U.S. Representatives Ralph Norman and Russell Fry, former South Carolina Governor and Congressman Mark Sanford seeking a political comeback, and businessman Mark Lynch, among others.

Overcoming questions regarding her lack of legislative experience, Graham relied on her deep family roots, personal advocacy background and presidential backing to secure her spot in the upcoming second-round contest.

Graham now moves forward to the August 25^th primary runoff, where she will face off against the second-place Republican finisher to finalize the party’s nominee.

The eventual winner of that runoff will immediately pivot to the general election campaign to face Democrat nominee Dr. Annie Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician, in November.