South Carolina Senate race 2026: Darline Graham vs. Annie Andrews

The basics

South Carolinians vote Nov. 3. Sen. Lindsey Graham won the Republican nomination on June 9 and died on July 11 at 71. His sister, Darline Graham, was appointed to the seat and, with President Donald Trump's backing, won an Aug. 25 special primary runoff over U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman with 52.5% of the vote. Norman later endorsed her. Andrews won the Democratic primary with 61.5%. Libertarian Kasie Whitener is also on the ballot.

The candidates

Darline Graham (R) worked in state government but had not been directly involved in politics beyond supporting her brother's campaigns, the Associated Press reported. She has campaigned as a Trump ally and says she is "tougher on immigration" than her brother was.

Annie Andrews (D) is a pediatrician who has not held elected office. She describes herself as a moderate and says she would stand up to her own party when she disagrees with it. She has been endorsed by Pete Buttigieg and has highlighted support from some Republican voters, The State reported.

Where the race stands

A New York Times/Siena poll (Oct. 19–26, 707 likely voters, ±4.3) found a 48–48 tie. East Carolina University (Oct. 19–24, 955 likely voters, ±3.7) had Graham 51%, Andrews 47%, and The Citadel (Oct. 14–25) had Graham 43%, Andrews 39%. STTPN's average of four recent independent polls is Graham 47.3%, Andrews 45%, inside the typical margin of error. In the Times/Siena poll, 51% of voters, including 18% of Republicans, said Graham did not have the right experience to be an effective senator, the Times reported.

Cook and Sabato's Crystal Ball rate the race Lean Republican. Inside Elections rates it Tilt Republican, and Fox News moved it to Toss-up on Oct. 29. Andrews had raised about $24.2 million through Oct. 14, compared with about $1.9 million for Graham's campaign, according to the FEC, though outside groups have spent millions supporting Graham.

The issues

The war in Iran and costs

At the candidates' only debate on Oct. 11, Andrews said Graham "voted to continue" the war three times and blamed it for high fuel prices. Graham said the conflict began "under Democrats, with Iran almost having a nuclear weapon," The Post and Courier reported.

Health care

Graham defends the 2025 tax and spending law, saying it cut taxes for the middle class, funded rural hospitals and requires "able-bodied people to work or train for 20 hours a week to receive Medicaid." Andrews opposes the law's Medicaid cuts and accused Graham of being "happy to gut healthcare." Whitener called for entitlement reform, which neither major party candidate supported.

Data centers

Andrews has called for a two year moratorium on new data centers. Graham supports local involvement in data center decisions, cosponsored the Ratepayer Protection Act and warned against overly restrictive tech rules, saying, "We're in electronic warfare basically right now."

Controversies

Andrews has made Graham's experience central to her campaign, citing Graham's comment in a runoff debate that "national security is not my thing." At the October debate Andrews called her "unserious, and unqualified". Graham replied, "I'm just as qualified as you," and said Andrews was "deceiving the people of South Carolina." Andrews also said Graham had changed her name from Nordone. The Post and Courier called that claim false, and Graham said she used her husband's surname only on a social media page.

Graham calls Andrews one of the most radical candidates in the state's history and objected to what she called the use of her family's tragedy as a weapon, calling it "despicable."