Fry, Norman join GOP special election primary for Graham's seat

South Carolina Rep. Russell Fry is the latest Republican congressman running to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, setting up a potential battle with President Donald Trump's pick – the longtime senator's sister, Darline Graham.

Fry entered the race Monday, two days after his colleague Rep. Ralph Norman kicked off his campaign. With filing for the Aug. 11 primary opening at noon on Tuesday, more contenders could join the field, including Rep. Nancy Mace, former Gov. Mark Sanford and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. Businessman Mark Lynch, who lost last month's primary to the late senator, and attorney Duke Buckner, a former House hopeful, have also launched bids.

Following Graham's unexpected death, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham to fill the remainder of her brother's term through early January. She has yet to say whether she'll run for a full term, but on Friday, Trump announced he would back her if she did. She is set to appear Monday night on Fox News.

The race to select a GOP Senate nominee will unfold on a truncated timeline: Under South Carolina law, the special primary election to replace Lindsey Graham on the November ballot will be held on Aug. 11, with a runoff election between the top two finishers scheduled for Aug. 25 if no one receives a majority of the vote.

The winner will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician.

Both Fry and Norman are pitching themselves as strong conservative advocates for Trump's MAGA agenda.

"We need a conservative fighter in the Senate who delivers real results. I will be your conservative MAGA candidate in the special primary Senate election this summer,'' Fry said in a statement. "I'm ready for the fight, and I'm all in."

An attorney and former member of the state Legislature, Fry was first elected to the deep-red 7th District in 2022 after ousting Republican Rep. Tom Rice in the primary with Trump's support. Rice had voted to impeach Trump over his actions on Jan. 6, 2021. Fry made that vote the main issue of his primary campaign, saying Rice broke voters' trust.

Norman's relationship with the president is more complicated. He was one of just two House members who backed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley during the 2024 Republican presidential primaries. He endorsed Trump after Haley dropped out of the race.

In his Senate announcement, Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, described himself as "a fighter who will stand with President Trump and carry on Lindsey Graham's legacy!"

Norman, who finished third in last month's race for the gubernatorial nomination, was already on track to retire from the House. His Senate bid has won the support of GOP Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah.

On Monday, Norman urged Fry to remain in the House, asserting that his decision to seek the Senate seat could jeopardize Speaker Mike Johnson's precarious hold on the majority.

"I respect Russell Fry and I have enjoyed serving with him in the House, but the reality is, his candidacy could leave his seat vacant until May 18th,'' Norman wrote on social media. "This would leave his constituents unrepresented, jeopardize President Trump's agenda, and put the House at risk of being led by a Speaker Hakeem Jeffries."

Mace, who is also leaving the House after an unsuccessful gubernatorial run, lobbed a similar attack against Fry.

"If you're running for two offices at once, you've already told us who you are. That's not about politics anymore — that's about power,'' she said on social media. "You're either with the people you serve or you're not."

The legality of seeking two offices simultaneously is not in question. On Wednesday, the South Carolina Election Commission addressed the matter and concluded that "as a practical matter, candidates have appeared on general election ballots for more than one office in previous South Carolina elections."