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Ongoing story / South Carolina

The 2026 South Carolina Senate race: Darline Graham vs. Annie Andrews

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina's 2026 Senate race, an upset in a state that had not sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly three decades.[1][2][3] Graham had been appointed to the seat after the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and President Donald Trump had campaigned for her in the race's final weeks.[4][2] A late-September poll showed Graham ahead by a single point, and a New York Times/Siena College poll about a week before Election Day found the two neck and neck.[4][5]

Read the timeline

Follow this story to see new developments when you return.

Graham had been appointed to the seat after the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and President Donald Trump had campaigned for her in the race's final weeks.[4][2] A late-September poll showed Graham ahead by a single point, and a New York Times/Siena College poll about a week before Election Day found the two neck and neck.[4][5]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-08-03 (UTC): 1%, 5 of 537 tracked outlets (0 left, 1 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): 1%, 5 of 480 tracked outlets (0 left, 4 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): 1%, 7 of 479 tracked outlets (0 left, 6 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-09-28 (UTC): 1%, 3 of 476 tracked outlets (0 left, 3 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-10-05 (UTC): 6%, 30 of 479 tracked outlets (9 left, 14 center, 7 right)Week of 2026-10-12 (UTC): 3%, 12 of 476 tracked outlets (4 left, 6 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-10-19 (UTC): 5%, 22 of 479 tracked outlets (6 left, 10 center, 6 right)Week of 2026-10-26 (UTC): 5%, 26 of 473 tracked outlets (7 left, 12 center, 7 right)Week of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 11%, 51 of 471 tracked outlets (17 left, 23 center, 11 right)Week 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. 3 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
Nov 2, 202617231151 of 47111%
Oct 26, 2026712726 of 4735%
Oct 19, 2026610622 of 4795%
Oct 12, 202646212 of 4763%
Oct 5, 2026914730 of 4796%
Sep 28, 20260303 of 4761%
Sep 21, 20260617 of 4791%
Sep 7, 20260415 of 4801%
Aug 3, 20260145 of 5371%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 3, 2026 · first reported · Headline from KRDO

    Trump’s personal push of Darline Graham in South Carolina comes back to bite his party

Background

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham to the US Senate after the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and she ran for a full six-year term.[4] In September she agreed to debate her Democratic opponent, the pediatrician Annie Andrews, on October 11 in a debate hosted by SCETV.[6]

Read the full background (2 more paragraphs)

The race tightened in the fall. Later in September the Cook Political Report shifted the race toward Democrats, citing what it called a "very blue environment forming" nationally,[7] and a Trafalgar Group poll had Graham ahead by one point.[4] In October the Senate Leadership Fund, the main Republican Senate , announced $5 million in spending in the state as President Donald Trump prepared to campaign there for Graham.[8] The Cook Political Report moved the race further toward Democrats in October.[9] Nearly 100,000 South Carolinians voted on the first day of early voting, more than double the first-day turnout of the previous midterm,[10] and on October 21 Trump held a rally for Graham.[11]

Trump's involvement became a theme of the race. In early October he repeatedly used an anti-transgender slur to attack Andrews,[12] and in the final days he returned to the state for Graham as Republican anxiety about the seat rose.[3] CNN described the result as a stunning upset in which Trump's hand-picked candidate lost,[2] and it left Democrats in a strong position to take control of the Senate, Bloomberg reported.[1]

Supporting stories (12)
  1. Annie Andrews defeats Darline Graham in South Carolina Senate race
  2. Trump’s personal push of Darline Graham in South Carolina comes back to bite his party
  3. Trump lends support for Darline Graham in South Carolina as Republican anxiety rises in Senate race
  4. Graham, Andrews neck and neck in South Carolina Senate race: Poll
  5. South Carolina race shocks Republicans in major blow to Trump: ‘Brutal’
  6. Darline Graham agrees to debate against Annie Andrews in race for South Carolina's Senate seat
  7. Cook Political Report shifts Kansas, South Carolina Senate races toward Democrats
  8. Republicans to spend $5 million in South Carolina Senate race as Trump plans trip there
  9. Cook Political Report shifts two Senate races toward Democrats, one toward GOP
  10. Day 1 of South Carolina early voting sees nearly 100K turnout
  11. Trump brings a last-minute rally boost to Darline Graham in South Carolina’s US Senate race
  12. Trump uses anti-transgender slur to attack South Carolina Senate candidate

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 20 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Trump’s personal push of Darline Graham in South Carolina comes back to bite his partyHeadline from KRDO · 6 outlets
  2. South Carolina race shocks Republicans in major blow to Trump: ‘Brutal’Headline from NJ.com / Star-Ledger · 5 outlets
  3. More than 1 million cast early ballots in South Carolina leading up to Election DayHeadline from WCBD News 2 · 2 outlets
  4. Annie Andrews defeats Darline Graham in South Carolina Senate raceHeadline from Courthouse News Service · 50 outlets

October 2026

  1. Graham vs Andrews: Why the race for a US Senate seat in South Carolina is getting attentionHeadline from WCBD News 2 · 3 outlets
  2. Trump lends support for Darline Graham in South Carolina as Republican anxiety rises in Senate raceHeadline from MyNorthwest · 25 outlets
  3. Bipartisan pair of former South Carolina governors endorse Andrews for SenateHeadline from The Hill · 4 outlets
  4. Trump to return to South Carolina days ahead of electionHeadline from The Hill · 2 outlets
  5. Trump brings a last-minute rally boost to Darline Graham in South Carolina’s US Senate raceHeadline from MyNorthwest · 19 outlets
  6. Cook Political Report shifts two Senate races toward Democrats, one toward GOPHeadline from The Hill · 4 outlets
  7. Day 1 of South Carolina early voting sees nearly 100K turnoutHeadline from WSAV-TV · 2 outlets
  8. South Carolina early voting begins todayHeadline from WJBF Augusta · 4 outlets
  9. Online feud spills onto South Carolina stage as Darline Graham, Annie Andrews snipe in Senate debateHeadline from MyNorthwest · 12 outlets
  10. In new ad, South Carolina Democrat responds to anti-transgender attacks echoed by TrumpHeadline from KION Central Coast · 8 outlets
  11. Republicans to spend $5 million in South Carolina Senate race as Trump plans trip thereHeadline from MyNorthwest · 12 outlets
  12. Trump uses anti-transgender slur to attack South Carolina Senate candidateHeadline from Local News 8 · 17 outlets

September 2026

  1. Graham, Andrews neck and neck in South Carolina Senate race: PollHeadline from The Hill · 7 outlets
  2. Cook Political Report shifts Kansas, South Carolina Senate races toward DemocratsHeadline from The Hill · 2 outlets
  3. Darline Graham agrees to debate against Annie Andrews in race for South Carolina's Senate seatHeadline from FOX 46 Charlotte · 5 outlets

August 2026

  1. Darline Graham breaks with brother on nuking filibusterHeadline from The Hill · 5 outlets

Coverage & sources

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

Coverage & sources →