Republican former South Carolina Governor David Beasley has crossed party lines to endorse Democrat Annie Andrews in her U.S. Senate race against Senator Darline Graham, giving Andrews a prominent GOP supporter as she attempts to pull off an upset in traditionally red South Carolina. Beasley joined Democratic former Governor Jim Hodges in a campaign video released on Monday backing Andrews.
Their alliance is particularly striking because Hodges defeated Beasley in South Carolina's 1998 gubernatorial election. Annie understands that leadership isn't about making people angrier. Well, it's about making things better.” The dual endorsement comes during the closing stretch of a race in which approved polling has shown Andrews within a few percentage points of Graham, despite South Carolina's long-standing Republican advantage.
Beasley served as governor from 1995 to 1999 and led the United Nations World Food Programme from 2017 to 2023. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 during his tenure. The endorsement bolsters Andrews' effort to demonstrate support beyond the Democratic electorate.
Her campaign said that more than 100 Republicans have joined its “Republicans for Annie” coalition. The campaign has also highlighted Warren Norman, the son of Republican Representative Ralph Norman, as a crossover supporter. The contest is unfolding amid a broader midterm campaign blitz, as both parties pour resources into competitive races across traditional swing states and look for unexpected opportunities elsewhere.
Newsweek contacted the Andrews and Graham campaigns for comment by email on Monday. Polling suggests that Andrews is competitive with Graham, although it does not show the Democrat leading. An InsiderAdvantage survey conducted September 28-29 among 1,200 likely South Carolina voters found Graham receiving 46 percent support to Andrews' 45 percent.
Constitution Party candidate Mark Hackett received 3 percent, Libertarian Kasie Whitener received 2 percent and 4 percent were undecided. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.83 percentage points. An InsiderAdvantage survey conducted September 8-9, also among 1,200 likely voters, put Graham at 45.1 percent and Andrews at 43.2 percent.
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