Washington Post

Sen. Darline Graham won a special primary runoff in South Carolina on Tuesday, securing her spot in the November election for a full term and notching a high-profile win for President Donald Trump's struggling endorsement streak.

Graham, the sister of the late Lindsey Graham, defeated Rep. Ralph Norman after receiving Trump's backing and benefiting from the president's rallying in South Carolina and dipping into his political super PAC to boost her campaign. The race was called by the Associated Press about two hours after polls closed.

Trump backed Graham for the full term after the state's governor, a Republican, appointed her to temporarily fill the seat shortly after her brother's death last month. The race sharply divided conservatives in South Carolina and beyond, with many endorsing Norman despite Trump's pick.

Graham will face Democrat Annie Andrews in the November general election, in a state where a Democrat has not won a Senate race since 1998.

Live results: S.C. GOP Special Runoff, U.S. Senate
99% of votes counted
Candidate | Votes | Pct
Darline Graham (Incumbent) | 193,396 | 52.5%
Ralph Norman | 175,327 | 47.6%
Updated Aug 26, 2026, 2:57 AM

A shift after Trump's endorsement ignored in recent primaries

Unlike in the state's gubernatorial primary in June — when Trump initially endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who ultimately failed to gain traction with a majority of GOP voters — this time, the president was motivated to get his candidate over the finish line. He wanted to mitigate his recent shaky endorsement record after his candidates suffered losses in at least 10 primary races this year, including high-profile defeats in Iowa, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Wyoming.

"I think she's great. I asked her to do it. I got her into this whole thing," Trump said Monday night during a tele-rally for Graham, letting out a small chuckle. "I have to make sure she gets in, because there will be nobody better."

On Tuesday, Graham performed strongly in the Myrtle Beach area, where Trump traveled for the rally.

In June, Trump issued a last-minute dual endorsement of both Evette and her runoff opponent, Attorney General Alan Wilson, who won the Republican nomination. Trump did not visit South Carolina to try to boost Evette.

This time, Trump did visit the state, traveling on Friday to campaign in a primary for a seat that is widely expected to remain safely red this fall.

His aligned super PAC, MAGA Inc., also doled out more than $825,000 over the weekend for get-out-the vote calls and texts on Graham's behalf — marking the first time this year his political operation has deployed its large reserves of cash.

The travel and spending reflected the Trump team's concern about notching a win in a primary runoff they expected would be close.

GOP has been divided over Darline Graham's candidacy

The special Senate primary election divided Trump's base in South Carolina — where a number of county Republican parties and grassroots leaders endorsed Norman over Graham — and also nationally.

Despite his close relationship with Trump in recent years, Lindsey Graham was widely distrusted and disliked by Trump's die-hard MAGA base — even getting booed from stage at a Trump rally near his hometown in 2023, the last time he would appear on stage at such an event. Some conservative influencers publicly argued against Darline Graham's election for a full term, saying she had not been sufficiently vetted and did not have a history of pro-Trump activism before her brother's death.

A string of recent interactions captured on video, including Darline Graham at a debate with Norman saying she is "not that informed on national security," highlighted her lack of experience.

Graham's camp, meanwhile, alleged Norman had accomplished little during his nine years in Congress. Allies of Graham also noted that Norman backed former governor Nikki Haley for president in 2024. State records show that Darline Graham, meanwhile, did not cast a ballot in the 2024 presidential primary or in the 2016 general election.

Graham and her allies heavily outspent Norman, running more than $7 million on television ads in the two-week runoff period, according to the tracking firm AdImpact, compared to $2 million for Norman.