Senator Darline Graham, who was appointed to complete the Senate term of her late brother, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, has advanced to a runoff election for the Republican nomination for the seat. The runoff is scheduled for 25 August, but it is not yet clear who her opponent will be.
Graham held a narrow lead in polls ahead of the special primary on Tuesday. Congressman Russell Fry, Congressman Ralph Norman, and former governor Mark Sanford were all within a point of each other in a recent Trafalgar Group survey.
Graham has highlighted her endorsement from Donald Trump, and also has the support of South Carolina's governor, Henry McMaster, and Senate majority leader John Thune. She told reporters after casting her ballot on Tuesday that she believes her experience running a state agency, which she said she turned into a national model, is valuable.
During her short time in Washington, Graham noted her role in the passage of a sanctions bill targeting Russia and being the deciding vote on Todd Blanche as attorney general. Meanwhile, Sanford has campaigned on fiscal stewardship, citing the increase in federal debt, and Norman has promoted the Save America Act and a bill to strip housing funding from cities not cooperating with ICE.
The winner of the Republican nomination will face Annie Andrews, the Democratic nominee and a pediatrician, in November.