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Gone quiet · last update Aug 26, 2026 / South Carolina

The 2026 South Carolina Senate race: Darline Graham's Republican primary win

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, won South Carolina's 2026 Republican Senate nomination in an August runoff, six weeks after she was appointed to her brother's seat with President Donald Trump's backing.[1] She defeated Rep. Ralph Norman despite concern about her lack of experience; she faced Democrat Annie Andrews in November.[2]

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She defeated Rep. Ralph Norman despite concern about her lack of experience; she faced Democrat Annie Andrews in November.[2]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-07-28 (UTC): 7%, 13 of 187 tracked outlets (6 left, 3 center, 4 right)Week of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): 2%, 11 of 560 tracked outlets (2 left, 5 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-07-13 (UTC): 23%, 127 of 559 tracked outlets (24 left, 56 center, 47 right)Week of 2026-07-20 (UTC): 10%, 57 of 562 tracked outlets (12 left, 20 center, 25 right)Week of 2026-07-27 (UTC): 3%, 18 of 561 tracked outlets (2 left, 14 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-08-03 (UTC): 2%, 12 of 537 tracked outlets (3 left, 5 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-08-10 (UTC): 11%, 58 of 545 tracked outlets (12 left, 24 center, 22 right)Week of 2026-08-17 (UTC): 10%, 48 of 464 tracked outlets (11 left, 21 center, 16 right)Week of 2026-08-24 (UTC): 12%, 57 of 466 tracked outlets (12 left, 27 center, 18 right)Week of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 5 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (9 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Aug 24, 202612271857 of 46612%
Aug 17, 202611211648 of 46410%
Aug 10, 202612242258 of 54511%
Aug 3, 202635412 of 5372%
Jul 27, 2026214218 of 5613%
Jul 20, 202612202557 of 56210%
Jul 13, 2026245647127 of 55923%
Jul 6, 202625411 of 5602%
Jul 28, 202563413 of 1877%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Aug 25, 2026 · first reported · Headline from ABC 17 Mid-Missouri

    Trump gets a much-needed South Carolina win and other takeaways from Tuesday’s elections

Background

In July 2025, Paul Dans, an architect of the conservative policy blueprint Project 2025, launched a Republican primary challenge to Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.[3] Graham died suddenly on July 11, 2026, and Gov. Henry McMaster, as President Donald Trump had recommended, appointed Graham's sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve the rest of his term, which ends in January.[4] She was sworn in on July 14,[5] and Trump urged her to run for a full term in the special Republican primary, pledging his "complete and total endorsement."[6]

Read the full background (2 more paragraphs)

Rep. Ralph Norman entered the race despite Trump's endorsement of Darline Graham,[7] and Rep. Russell Fry and former Gov. Mark Sanford joined the field.[8][9] An Emerson College poll in late July showed Norman with a slim lead over Graham.[10] No candidate won a majority in the August 11 primary, which sent Graham and Norman to an August 25 runoff,[11] and Fry, who finished third, endorsed Graham.[12]

Norman called Trump's endorsement of Graham a "head scratcher" and cast her as the establishment's candidate.[13] At a debate a week before the runoff, asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea matter to US national security, Darline Graham said national security was "not my thing."[14] Sen. Tim Scott later said she was "without question" qualified for the Senate.[15] Sanford endorsed Norman as Trump prepared to rally for Graham in Myrtle Beach,[16] and Graham won the runoff.[1][2]

Supporting stories (16)
  1. Trump support propels Darline Graham to victory in South Carolina runoff
  2. Darline Graham wins South Carolina GOP nomination to replace her late brother in U.S. Senate
  3. Project 2025 architect Paul Dans to run against Lindsey Graham in GOP bid for South Carolina Senate seat
  4. McMaster appoints Lindsey Graham's sister to serve remainder of his Senate term
  5. Darline Graham, Lindsey’s sister, sworn in as his US Senate replacement
  6. Trump urges Darline Graham to run in South Carolina special election
  7. Ralph Norman announces he’ll enter race to succeed Lindsey Graham in Senate
  8. South Carolina Republican Russell Fry joins race for Graham Senate seat
  9. Mark Sanford announces campaign to fill late Lindsey Graham's Senate seat
  10. Norman, Graham lead South Carolina GOP Senate primary: Poll
  11. Sen. Darline Graham, US Rep. Ralph Norman advance to GOP runoff for US Senate in South Carolina
  12. Russell Fry endorses ex-rival Darline Graham after failing to advance to special GOP US Senate primary runoff
  13. AP Interview: Ralph Norman questions Trump's endorsement of Darline Graham in South Carolina runoff
  14. National security question trips up Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina debate
  15. Tim Scott says ‘without question’ Darline Graham is qualified for Senate
  16. Sanford backs Norman over Graham in South Carolina Senate runoff: 'Stakes are simply too high'

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 44 recorded updates

August 2026

  1. Trump gets a much-needed South Carolina win and other takeaways from Tuesday’s electionsHeadline from ABC 17 Mid-Missouri · 6 outlets
  2. Darline Graham, Ralph Norman battle to replace Lindsey Graham on ballot in South Carolina runoffHeadline from ABC 7 Los Angeles · 1 outlet
  3. Sen. Darline Graham wins the Republican Senate primary runoff in South CarolinaHeadline from NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth · 13 outlets
  4. MAGA Inc. spends $827,000 to back Darline Graham on final day of South Carolina GOP Senate runoffHeadline from WFMZ Allentown · 7 outlets
  5. Darline Graham, Ralph Norman go head-to-head in South Carolina's GOP Senate runoffHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 9 outlets
  6. Darline Graham wins South Carolina GOP nomination to replace her late brother in U.S. SenateHeadline from PBS NewsHour · 22 outlets
  7. Tim Scott 'very confident' Darline Graham will win runoffHeadline from The Hill · 3 outlets
  8. South Carolina’s Primary Battle Heats Up in the Final StretchHeadline from The Daily Signal · 1 outlet
  9. Tim Scott says ‘without question’ Darline Graham is qualified for SenateHeadline from NBC News · 2 outlets
  10. Trump support propels Darline Graham to victory in South Carolina runoffHeadline from Roll Call · 27 outlets
  11. Trump tries to push Sen. Darline Graham across the finish line over some Republicans’ objectionsHeadline from KEYT Santa Barbara · 5 outlets
  12. Sanford backs Norman over Graham in South Carolina Senate runoff: 'Stakes are simply too high'Headline from The Hill · 4 outlets
  13. Watch live: Trump stumps for Darline Graham in South CarolinaHeadline from The Hill · 14 outlets
  14. With his political capital on the line, Trump rallies for Darline Graham in South CarolinaHeadline from KTVZ Bend · 7 outlets
  15. National security question trips up Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina debateHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 43 outlets
  16. Graham, Norman tangle in South Carolina GOP Senate debate: Three takeawaysHeadline from The Hill · 3 outlets
  17. AP Interview: Ralph Norman questions Trump's endorsement of Darline Graham in South Carolina runoffHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 6 outlets
  18. Last day to vote early in South Carolina’s U.S. Senate special Republican primary runoffHeadline from WCBD News 2 · 2 outlets
  19. Trump to campaign for Darline Graham Nordone in South CarolinaHeadline from Washington Examiner · 1 outlet
  20. Donald Trump to hold rally in Myrtle Beach on Friday, August 21Headline from FOX8 WGHP · 2 outlets
  21. Russell Fry endorses ex-rival Darline Graham after failing to advance to special GOP US Senate primary runoffHeadline from Fox News · 10 outlets
  22. Sen. Darline Graham, US Rep. Ralph Norman advance to GOP runoff for US Senate in South CarolinaHeadline from WBTW Myrtle Beach · 59 outlets
  23. Early voting begins in special GOP primary for South Carolina's U.S. Senate seatHeadline from WCBD News 2 · 4 outlets
  24. ‘Trump threw us all a curveball’: South Carolina Republicans are stewing about Lindsey Graham’s old Senate seatHeadline from KESQ Palm Springs · 6 outlets

July 2026

  1. Rules for the South Carolina Republican U.S. Senate debateHeadline from WCBD News 2 · 4 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →