Darline Graham says she will be running for late brother Lindsey Graham's seat in U.S. Senate

COLUMBIA — Lindsey Graham's sister, Darline, says she intends to run for a full term to replace her late brother in the U.S. Senate.

In a takeout of an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity that was posted online July 20, Graham, the former head of the S.C. Carolina Commission for the Blind, said simply, "I'm in," when asked about the prospect of running for the seat.

"I feel like I can do it," she said in the interview, adding she dealt with "a tremendous amount of pressure" in making the choice. "I feel an inner peace about it. Will it be difficult? Yes. Absolutely."

The full interview, which is Darline Graham's first since her brother's sudden death of a heart rupture on July 11, was set to air at 9 p.m. Monday on Fox News.

The announcement comes several days after a post by President Donald Trump encouraging now-Sen. Darline Graham to enter the race, saying she would have his "complete and total endorsement" should she enter her name at the start of filing on July 21.

With her announcement, Graham joins an increasingly crowded field that includes S.C. Congress members Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, Upstate businessman Mark Lynch, and perennial candidate Duke Buckner. She would also enter the race an immediate player, with upwards of $2.3 million in cash still sitting in her deceased brother's campaign accounts available for transfer to a new committee as of June 30.

Under Federal Elections Commission rules, however, the bulk of those funds would have to be transferred to a separate committee to support her via a number of independent expenditures, and could not be used for her own campaign activities. That would mean Graham likely would need to do all of her own fundraising to support her budding campaign's infrastructure, while her late brother's money likely could only be used for various ancillary tasks under a separate committee.

Kevin Bishop, Lindsey Graham's longtime spokesman who oversaw a political action committee supporting him during his recent bids, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether that PAC would be involved in supporting his sister's bid. Another former Graham campaign staffer with knowledge of Graham's finances declined comment.

Another potential candidate is former Gov. Mark Sanford, who recently filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission signaling his intent to run for the post.

Should Graham emerge victorious from the Aug. 11 primary, some have raised concerns about her ability to run on her party banner under recently enacted rules by the South Carolina Republican Party. The rules change requires party nominees to have voted in at least two out of the most recent three Republican primaries or else seek a waiver from the state party to be eligible.

Reached for comment, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Republican Party said July 20 they were still awaiting a determination from the state elections commission to "confirm next steps" regarding Graham's candidacy, adding they were "hoping to hear back from them soon." But at least one county party chairman, Dorchester County's C.J. Westfall, has already called for a formal review of Graham's qualifications, noting in a letter he believed there were questions about whether her voting record qualified her to run without approval by the state party.

"This request is not intended to hurt or harm (Graham)," he wrote in the letter. "She has endured more this week than most people experience in a lifetime, and our prayers remain with her and the entire Graham family."

Graham voted in the 2024 and 2026 Republican primaries as well as this year's runoff election, which could potentially make her eligible without the need of a waiver, several campaign sources said. Drew McKissick, the state party chairman, said the party would review the qualifications of all candidates after filing closes July 28.

"The bottom line is, when we get the filings from all the candidates, we conduct due diligence on all of them, not just any one of them," McKissick said in a brief phone interview July 20.

Lindsey Graham died July 11 from a torn aorta.