South Carolina Republicans head to the polls Tuesday in a special primary to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died last month from a tear in his aorta.
Darline Graham, the late senator’s sister, was appointed to serve out the interim term and is now running to keep the seat. President Trump has endorsed her campaign. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is also backing her bid and running television ads on her behalf.
Graham faces a crowded Republican field that includes Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, along with former Gov. Mark Sanford. If no candidate wins a majority Tuesday, the top two finishers will meet in an Aug. 25 runoff.
Graham has spent most of her time in Washington rather than campaigning across the state, citing her Senate duties while the chamber remained in session. She sent a video message rather than appear in person at a Friday forum hosted by the Fourth District Republican Club in Greenville.
“I feel like my job is to be in D.C. working for everyone right now,” Graham said Saturday at a campaign event in Florence, her first public gaggle with reporters. “I hate that I can’t be here. I want to be here.”
Before Saturday, Graham’s only public campaign stop had been a forum in Lexington, S.C., where she spent years in state government, including a stint as agency head of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind.
Kathy Bustos, a Mount Pleasant Republican who attended last week’s Greenville forum, said she has reservations about electing Graham to a full term despite her appointment, the Associated Press reports.
“I think it’s a very nice gesture for her to have the rest of his term to complete, but I’m not sure that she’s really qualified or ready to be elected to the Senate,” Bustos said.
Other voters praised Graham for prioritizing Senate business. Teresa Castrinos of Bluffton said Graham’s attendance record on votes showed she was “putting South Carolina first.” Charles Brentnell of Greenville County said he backed her decision to stay in Washington rather than campaign while the Senate was voting.
Graham participated in one of two televised primary debates, where she voiced support for changing Senate filibuster rules to advance strict proof-of-citizenship voting legislation, a priority for Trump. She missed a second debate held Tuesday while she was in Washington for votes and did not speak with reporters following the debate she did attend.
Graham defended her readiness for the job, pointing to her time in state government and her weeks so far as interim senator.
