WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump has weighed in on the race to replace the late Lindsey Graham in the Senate, calling on his sister, Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-S.C.), to run for his seat.
“Darline, who comes from an absolutely incredible family, has been a winner all of her life and, should she accept, has my complete and total endorsement in the special election for U.S. Senate in South Carolina,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 17.
Graham, who had served in the Senate since 2003, passed away on July 11 after a cardiac episode following a trip to Ukraine. He won the Republican primary for his seat in June.
Nordone was appointed to serve out her brother’s term by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. Trump also endorsed her for that interim role. She was sworn in on July 14.
The Aug. 11 primary to replace Graham will decide the Republican candidate in November’s election against the Democratic candidate, Dr. Annie Andrews.
Candidate filing in the race opens on July 21 and closes on July 28, with early voting set to take place between Aug. 5 and Aug. 7. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers will compete in a runoff on Aug. 25.
Mark Lynch, who lost the June primary against Graham, has announced he will compete in the primary. South Carolina Reps. Nancy Mace, Ralph Norman, Sheri Biggs, and Russell Fry have emerged as possible candidates in the race, as have South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, former Rep. Trey Gowdy, former Gov. Mark Sanford, and McMaster.
The first poll on hypothetical matchups in the contest, released by Emerson College on July 16, showed no clear favorite, though Norman led Lynch, Mace, and other potential contenders.
In his Truth Social post, Trump described a visit by Nordone to the Oval Office. He said he urged her to run in the primary at that time.
“We have known each other for a long time—she is a spectacular person, and a true American patriot,” the president wrote. “Lindsey was one of the greatest people and senators I have ever known, and his sister shares his deep love of our country, and the state of South Carolina.”
Nordone was partly raised by her late brother after their parents died when she was still a teenager.
The new senator has never been elected to office. Before she replaced her brother, she built a career in disability services.
In 2019, she became a commissioner on the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. She has also worked at Clemson University, one of the state’s major public universities, as well as in departments of South Carolina’s government.
Nordone was a key backer of her brother’s political campaigns, including his 2016 presidential candidacy. That race pitted him against Trump and a large field of other Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Trump’s current secretary of state, Marco Rubio.
