Darline Graham defeated Rep. Ralph Norman in South Carolina's Republican Senate primary runoff, winning the nomination to hold the seat her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, occupied until his death. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 8:38 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
President Trump recruited Graham for the race and lobbied Gov. Henry McMaster to appoint her to finish her brother's term. McMaster did so, and Trump traveled to Myrtle Beach last week to campaign for her. "This is the easiest race that I've ever seen," Trump said at the rally. "We have a great candidate."
The win matters because Trump's endorsement record cracked in recent weeks. Republican voters rejected his preferred candidates in gubernatorial primaries in Minnesota, Iowa and Georgia, and in at least one House race in Florida. Graham's victory halts that losing streak and restores credibility to his direct-intervention strategy heading into November.
Graham, a political newcomer with no prior elected office, acknowledged in a debate with Norman that she is "not that informed on national security" — a line that gave Norman's supporters their sharpest attack. Trump backed her anyway, calculating that loyalty to the Graham name and his own endorsement weight would carry the race. It did.
Norman, a five-term congressman who represented South Carolina's Fifth District, had limited statewide profile. He placed third in the state's Republican gubernatorial primary in June before pivoting to challenge Graham in the Senate runoff. His campaign drew backing from former Gov. Nikki Haley, former Gov. Mark Sanford and outgoing Rep. Nancy Mace. Norman's family roots in commercial real estate run deep — his father founded the Warren Norman Company, and Norman worked there before entering politics, first serving in the South Carolina House from 2005 to 2006 and again from 2009 to 2017.
Graham now faces Democrat Annie Andrews in November's general election. South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1998, which makes Andrews the structural underdog. Graham's debate stumble on national security gives Andrews her one line of attack to keep the race competitive, and Norman's backers — including Haley and Sanford — have shown no obligation to fall in line behind a candidate Trump chose over their objections.
On the same night, Oklahoma held runoff races for both governor and a U.S. Senate seat. The Senate contest fills the seat formerly held by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. N'Kiyla Jasmine Thomas defeated minister Jim Priest to win the Democratic Senate nomination. Decision Desk HQ called that race shortly after 8:40 p.m. ET. Thomas is a member of the Chickasaw Nation and a nurse who describes herself as a democratic socialist. Her win follows that of Angie Nixon, a fellow democratic socialist who won Florida's Democratic Senate primary the previous week, suggesting a leftward pull in Democratic primary electorates even in states where the general election is a long shot.
In Georgia, Everton Blair won the runoff to complete the U.S. House term of the late Rep. David Scott, his father. The Associated Press called the race at 8:38 p.m. ET. Blair previously chaired the Gwinnett County Board of Education. His opponent was Marcye Scott.
