Senator Darline Graham, appointed to complete the Senate term of her late brother, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina will face congressman Ralph Norman in a runoff election for the Republican nomination. Graham held a narrow lead in the polls going into the abbreviated special primary on Tuesday, which predicted a close contest for second place. Norman, Russell Fry, a congressman, and Mark Sanford, a former governor, had polled within a point of each other in the most recent survey from the Trafalgar Group.
The winner of the runoff on 25 August will face Annie Andrews, the Democratic nominee and a pediatrician, in November. Graham has loudly trumpeted her endorsement from Donald Trump, but also enjoys the support of South Carolina’s governor, Henry McMaster, and John Thune, the Senate majority leader. In recent interviews the political outsider sought to convince people that her experience, and focus on affordability, made her the right candidate.
I turned it from a struggling agency into a national model. I think that’s great experience to bring to the table,” Graham said, addressing reporters after casting her ballot on Tuesday. She highlighted the passage of a sanctions bill targeting Russia during her short tenure in Washington.
So I think I’ve accomplished a whole lot in three weeks.” Norman represents a congressional district in the suburbs of Charlotte that is vote-rich for Republicans, contributing disproportionately to statewide primary results. The real estate developer has served in Congress since 2017, and is most notable for his role as vice-chair of the far-right Freedom caucus. His broad support from state legislators and a statewide campaign apparatus largely remained intact after his failed primary bid for the governor’s office in June.
Norman’’s campaign highlighted support for the Save America Act, a Trump-backed bill to impose federal requirements on states to mandate proof of citizenship at voter registration and to submit state voter rolls to federal oversight. He also has promoted a bill to strip housing funding from cities that do not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The last-minute squabble for the Republican nomination saw a spectrum of conservative approaches to the seat, with candidates quickly turning on each other in debate, social media and political advertising.
Sanford, who served as governor between two stints in Congress, had campaigned on fiscal stewardship, noting the dramatic increase in the federal debt. Fry has come under fire from Graham and others for running simultaneously for the US Senate and to retain his congressional seat. Statewide special elections in South Carolina are rare events.
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