South Carolina Senate Primary

The South Carolina Republican Party is holding a runoff election after no candidate received at least fifty per cent of the vote in the Senate primary earlier this month. The two top finishers, Darline Graham and Ralph Norman, are competing to replace Senator Lindsey Graham—who died earlier this summer—in November’s general election. Darline, Lindsey’s sister, is a disability advocate and the former commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. She has been serving as senator on an interim basis, and has received President Donald Trump’s endorsement. In a recent debate, however, she faced criticism for failing to answer a question about U.S. security concerns in the South China Sea, saying, “I’m not that informed on national security.” Norman, a five-term congressman from South Carolina, has been endorsed by several Trump allies, including the Utah senator Mike Lee and the South Carolina congresswoman Nancy Mace. Norman is an election denier and, in 2021, encouraged Trump to declare martial law ahead of President Joe Biden’s Inauguration.