Dorothy

In Oklahoma, the Trump-backed Mazzei finished slightly behind state Attorney General Gentner Drummond in the initial June GOP primary, with a crowded field keeping either from winning the nomination outright. The winner of Tuesday's GOP runoff will be considered the clear general election favorite in the Republican-dominated state.

Trump’s influence also faces a test in the Oklahoma GOP primary for governor. State Attorney General Gentner Drummond has touted his closeness to the president, even though Trump backed his opponent, former state Sen. Mike Mazzei. Trump has since panned Drummond as a “fake Republican.”

Live Results: Georgia special election runoff to replace Rep. David Scott Residents of Georgia's 13th Congressional District outside of Atlanta will get a new representative to Congress after a special election runoff Tuesday to replace the late Democratic Rep. David Scott, who died April 22.

Both Trump-backed candidates are facing off in competitive contests on that day that also includes a special election runoff in Georgia to fill a congressional seat left vacant following Democratic Rep. David Scott’s death in April. The two candidates are Democrats, which means the winner will further reduce an already extremely fragile Republican majority in the House.

During a one-on-one debate she had with Norman last Tuesday, she was asked if Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for the United States. She answered, "I'm not that informed on national security. But I do support the military ... I'm not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I do support the military."

But Graham, while admitting she feels she got the answer wrong -- telling Fox News she "tripped up on one question" -- told voters at an event last week, "To me, as I've walked around this room and I've asked people, 'Are y'all concerned about Taiwan?' You know what they said? No, they're concerned about the price of groceries, the price of gas, rising healthcare costs."

But Trump’s endorsement wasn’t enough to convince him to vote for Graham in Tuesday’s high-stakes GOP runoff. Graham’s recent debate performance affected his perceptions after she said that “national security is not my thing” when asked if Taiwan and the South China Sea are U.S. national security issues.

Graham avoided a direct response and instead mentioned her brother’s wealth of experience and her desire to focus on more domestic issues like affordability. Norman called Taiwan “a definite ally” when posed the same question, applauding Trump for “enabling Taiwan to defend themselves against China.” Afterward, he suggested Graham’s answer showed her lack of qualifications for the office.

“Now the critics say I shouldn’t run for the Senate. They say I’m not a politician. You know what I say? Guilty as charged,” Graham said at Friday’s rally with Trump. “And by the way, President Trump had never served in an elected office before, and I think he’s done a damn good job.”

"The critics say I shouldn't run for the Senate. They say I'm not a politician. You know what I say? Guilty as charged," Sen. Graham said during the Myrtle Beach rally. "By the way, President Trump has never served in elected office before and I think he's done a damn good job."

Trump, for his part, said Graham was just “being honest” in the debate. “I mean, she’s going to do what the military wants, and really what the president wants,” Trump told reporters Friday before the rally.

Trump's super PAC, MAGA Inc., has also spent more than $827,000 on behalf of Graham.

Patrick Maguire contributed. 📱Related: MAGA Inc., the super PAC tied to Trump, has spent $830,000 on text messages and voter phone calls to boost Graham, Bridget Bowman reports.

Trump’s MAGA Inc. makes last-minute buy for Darline Graham in South Carolina runoff The president’s super PAC spent more than $827,000 on voter phone calls and texts for Graham — even as battleground Republicans have been clamoring for money.

Graham has framed her outsider status as an asset, while pointing to Trump's support as one of the key reasons conservatives should support her bid for a full term. And Trump threw more than just a social media endorsement behind her: he flew to Myrtle Beach for a rally on Friday, in one of his first major campaign stops during the 2026 midterms.

On Friday in Myrtle Beach, Trump reiterated that sentiment to a crowd of several thousand, encouraging people to vote for Graham to preserve tax cuts, among other things.

“I asked her to do this,” Trump said on Friday in a campaign stop in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. “I said, ‘Darline, you gotta do it.’ ‘Cause everyone loves her, everyone respects her. I’ve known her, through Lindsey … I think Lindsey respected Darline more than any other person he knows, including me. That does not make me happy. I’m not happy about that.”

"I'm doing this to honor Lindsey. That's why I'm here," Trump said at the Myrtle Beach rally on Aug. 21. "So, Darline, we got to win that race."

Rep. Norman, on the other hand, does have political experience as a five-term Congressman. Earlier this year, Rep. Norman ran for South Carolina governor but came in third place. During his short campaign for Senate, Norman has leaned on his political experience as a reason why voters should send him to the chamber.

He also received help from Haley and her allies. Haley’s own super PAC and other groups aligned with her put more than $700,000 toward Norman’s campaign, making direct contributions and transfers to other political action committees that supported him. Ads and text messages contrasted Norman’s record with Graham’s inexperience, including her foreign policy debate flub.