Trump tries to push Darline Graham to victory with South Carolina trip

President Donald Trump is traveling to South Carolina on Friday to boost Republican Sen. Darline Graham in a runoff election that has exposed rifts within the GOP over the direction of the party.

The election will test the power of Trump's endorsement among Republican voters after several Trump-backed candidates have lost in recent Republican primaries for Congress.

Graham, 62, is a longtime state bureaucrat who has spent decades in South Carolina government, most recently as commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. She's a political novice who had never run for office before being appointed to the Senate seat held by her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died on July 11 of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

"I'm just going to be honest here. I'm not that informed on national security," Graham said during an Aug. 18 candidates' debate when asked about Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Graham finished first in the Aug. 11 special Republican primary with 33% of the vote, topping Norman, who finished with 25%, and U.S. Rep. Russell Fry, who got 20% of the vote.

Norman has sought to capitalize on the moment, arguing South Carolina voters deserve a senator ready on day one.

The runoff winner advances to face Annie Andrews, a physician, in the November special election.