Trump backs Graham’s sister for temporary Senate appointment
Trump urged South Carolina’s governor to name Darline Graham Nordone as an interim successor after Lindsey Graham’s death.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
4 min read
President Donald Trump urged South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to appoint Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, to fill the seat temporarily, Trump said Monday on social media. The recommendation comes as Republicans face a compressed contest to replace Graham, whose death has opened a Senate seat in a state where the GOP has long dominated statewide races, according to The Associated Press.
Graham died over the weekend at 71, the AP reported. McMaster was expected to announce his temporary appointment later Monday, and a person familiar with the process told the AP the interim senator would be sworn in Wednesday.
Trump said McMaster should choose Nordone to serve the remainder of Graham’s current term, which runs until January. Graham had been running for a fifth term this year.
According to the AP, Graham helped raise Nordone after their parents died when the siblings were young, later becoming her legal guardian. She appeared with him earlier this year when he filed reelection paperwork, along with her children and grandchildren.
Special election calendar is tight
South Carolina law calls for a one-week filing period for a special primary to begin on the second Tuesday after a candidate’s death, which the AP said would be July 21. The primary would follow on Aug. 11, with a runoff, if needed, on Aug. 25.
That schedule would leave the new Republican nominee a little more than two months before the Nov. 3 general election. The AP reported that the timeline raises questions under federal rules requiring military and overseas ballots to be sent 45 days before a federal election; Federal Election Commission officials did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for guidance.
A preliminary medical examiner report said Graham suffered an aortic dissection, a tear in the aorta, according to the AP.
Republicans weigh next moves
The opening has drawn attention from several South Carolina Republicans, the AP reported. State Attorney General Alan Wilson recently won the Republican nomination for governor after defeating a field that included Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, all of whom are now looking at Graham’s seat, according to the report.
A person familiar with Evette’s thinking told the AP she has been encouraged by supporters across South Carolina and believes she would be well positioned in a special primary. A person familiar with Mace’s thinking told the AP she is considering a run; Mace is not seeking reelection to the House.
The AP reported that House members may be less likely choices for the interim appointment because Republicans hold a narrow majority in that chamber. Rep. Joe Wilson said Sunday he told Trump that his goal was to remain in the House to protect what he called the president’s two-vote majority.
Rep. Russell Fry, a two-term lawmaker from the Myrtle Beach area and a Trump ally, was also described by the AP as a possible contender. A spokesperson for businessman Mark Lynch, whom Graham defeated in the Republican primary, did not return the AP’s message Sunday.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has received calls about possibly replacing Graham but is not interested and likes working for Trump, a person familiar with private conversations told the AP. Bessent lived in South Carolina before joining the administration.
Democrat already nominated
Charleston pediatrician Annie Andrews won the Democratic nomination last month, according to the AP. Federal filings cited by the AP show Andrews had raised more than $8 million and had just under $3 million on hand at the end of May, while Graham had raised $6 million and had a little more than $4 million available.
No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate race in South Carolina in decades, the AP reported. Graham defeated Democrat Jaime Harrison by 10 percentage points in 2020.
Andrews said Sunday that South Carolinians should set partisanship aside and express gratitude for Graham’s service, according to the AP. Harrison wrote on social media that despite their political disagreements, he valued being able to share respect for South Carolina and the institutions they served.
Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina’s other Republican senator, co-chaired Graham’s reelection campaign and called him “irreplaceable,” the AP reported. Scott told ABC’s “This Week” that America had lost a statesman and that he had lost a friend.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.