Trump's Bet on Darlilne Graham Pays Off: Senator Defeats Rep. Ralph Norman in South Carol"
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Trump's Bet on Darlilne Graham Pays Off
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Sen. Darline Graham defeated Rep. Ralph Norman in South Carolina’s Republican primary runoff, NBC News projects, a victory for President Donald Trump, who recruited, endorsed and campaigned for her following her brother Lindsey Graham’s death six weeks ago.
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New York PostGraham (R-SC), who was endorsed and encouraged by President Trump to run for Lindsay Graham’s seat following the longtime senator’s shocking death last month, topped Norman (R-SC) 53-47% in the Palmetto State primary runoff, with more than three-fourths of the ballots counted.
The Daily WireTrump-endorsed Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) won Tuesday’s Republican runoff and will advance to the November general election, overcoming concerns about the political newcomer’s lack of experience as she seeks a full term in her late brother’s Senate seat.
The Guardian USTrump recommended the appointment of Darline Graham, a career civil servant who was head of South Carolina’s Commission for the Blind, then encouraged her to run for a full term – upending a Republican scramble to select a new Senate nominee. She advanced to the runoff election after emerging as the top vote-getter in a 10-candidate field that included two congressmen and a former South Carolina governor.
BreitbartDarline Graham Nordone has won the South Carolina Republican Senate runoff, defeating Rep. Ralph Norman by 53-47 percent and giving President Donald Trump a huge win on Tuesday. The race was called by Decision Desk and NBC News.
The HillLive results: Graham, Norman square off for GOP nod in South Carolina Senate runoff Sen. Darline Graham (R) is squaring off against Rep. Ralph Norman (R) for the GOP nod in the South Carolina Senate race. The pair advanced to the runoff earlier this month after neither candidate garnered more than half the vote in the crowded primary field. Graham, who notched President Trump’s support, led Norman by 8…
USA TodayDarline Graham and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina advanced to a runoff after an Aug. 11 primary, when neither candidate earned over 50% of the votes. Graham assumed her brother's seat in the Senate after he suddenly died of an aortic dissection. Graham was sworn into office as her sibling's interim replacement and is now running to be his full-time replacement for a full term beginning in 2027.
PoliticoPolitical newcomer Darline Graham wins South Carolina’s GOP Senate runoff Her win in the snap primary to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham comes after President Donald Trump significantly boosted her campaign.
RealClearPoliticsSen. Darline Graham won the GOP Senate runoff in South Carolina on Tuesday night, CBS News projects, defeating Rep. Ralph Norman in the special primary to replace Graham's late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, on the ballot.
Washington TimesThe two-week runoff window since the two Republicans were the top vote-getters in an Aug. 11 primary has been a slugfest. Darline Graham — a political newcomer serving as interim replacement for her late brother - has struggled to define herself to voters who routinely backed Lindsey Graham in the heavily Republican state. Norman, who’s served the better part of two decades in state and federal elected office, has stressed his experience to voters already aware of him from his years in Congress, plus an unsuccessful run for governor earlier this year.
Washington ExaminerAfter polls initially placed Graham Nordone ahead of her opponent, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), her momentum stalled after she said she was “not that informed on national security,” causing voters to question her experience. Graham Nordone was appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) following the unexpected death of her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.
HuffPostDarline Graham, who had never publicly evinced a desire to run for public office prior to being asked by Trump to run for her brother’s seat, defeated congressman Ralph Norman in the runoff election. She will now face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews in November and, given the state’s recent political history, is likely to win.
New York TimesEven as Trump’s Standing Slips, He Slingshots Darline Graham to Victory After facing low approval ratings and endorsement setbacks, the president made a show of force in lifting Darline Graham to the Republican nomination for Senate in South Carolina.
Fox NewsSen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., toppled Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., in a whirlwind race to replace her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, as the GOP nominee for the Senate after his sudden death in July.
PBS NewsHourGraham and Norman make final push in South Carolina GOP Senate runoff On Tuesday, Republican voters in South Carolina will vote to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham on November's ballot in a runoff between his sister Darline and Congressman Ralph Norman. As South Carolina ETV's Gavin Jackson reports, the closing days of this electoral sprint featured a major debate gaffe and a campaign rally with President Trump.
ABC NewsGraham has said outsider status is a plus, while pointing to Trump’s backing. The power of President Donald Trump's endorsement and the legacy of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham are on the ballot in South Carolina, as voters go to the polls Tuesday in a special primary runoff election.
The FederalistGraham beat proven conservative Rep. Ralph Norman by 5 percentage points (52.5% to 47.5%), with primary voters opting for a “woefully” unprepared “very nice lady” over a five-term congressman and Freedom Caucus member who is informed on national security.
NPR NewsAfter no candidate in a crowded field won outright in a Republican special primary earlier this month, the state is holding a runoff between Graham's sister, Sen. Darline Graham, and Congressman Ralph Norman.
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She was 13 years old when her father died, and Lindsey Graham raised his sister after their death. In a 2015 interview with The New York Times, Graham described her brother as "kind of like a brother, a father and a mother rolled into one."
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Washington ExaminerHer relationship with her brother has also been central to the unusual circumstances surrounding the race. After their parents died when the siblings were young, Lindsey Graham became his younger sister’s legal guardian and later adopted her so she could receive military benefits.
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"Lindsey Graham was well informed on the United States' national security. Darline Graham admits she's not. This is not something you inherit. And it's critical in the U.S. Senate," Haley wrote on X last week.
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The Daily WireFormer South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley criticized the remark. “Lindsey Graham was well informed on the United States’ national security. Graham admits she’s not,” Haley said. “This is not something you inherit. And it’s critical in the U.S. Senate.”
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“Lindsey was one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, and his sister shares his deep love of our Country, and the State of South Carolina,” the president continued, adding that “there is nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother.”
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Breitbart“Lindsey was one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, and his sister shares his deep love of our Country, and the State of South Carolina. During her visit, I asked Darline, for the Good of our Nation, to run for the U.S. Senate,” he wrote.
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"Darline is somebody I've known for a long time," Trump said during a rally for her in Myrtle Beach last week. "I asked her to do this. I said, ‘Darline, you got to do it,’ because everyone loves her. Everyone respects her."
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NPR News"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."
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Haley has returned that support to the tune of more than $700,000 in outside money from PACs aligned with her. That makes Haley the biggest outside player supporting Norman, with whom she also served in the state House of Representatives several years before being elected governor in 2010.
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Washington TimesHe 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.
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"The thing that hammered it home was his visit and telling the MAGA crowd that his endorsement was unequivocal," Scott Huffmon, a political science professor at Winthrop University, told USA TODAY. "Trump left no doubt who he was behind, and they voted the way he told them to, period." That led the Trump-endorsed incumbent and political neophyte to beat hardline conservative Rep. Ralph Norman in the heavily Republican state, 52% to 48%, the Associated Press and NBC News projected.
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HuffPost“I think Trump making this a referendum on himself meant that MAGA voters in key places turned out and voted for the candidate he endorsed,” said Scott Huffmon, a political scientist and pollster at South Carolina’s Winthrop University. “Given Trump‘s recent losses in primary endorsements, that was not a sure thing when polls opened this morning.”
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In her victory speech Tuesday evening, Ms. Graham said she misses her brother and there is “still a big hole in my heart.”
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USA TodayGraham started her victory speech at a Columbia watch party by reflecting on her brother's death. She said she misses her brother every day.
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During 12 years with the Vocational Rehabilitation Department, Graham served as the business services director and communications director, according to the biography. She currently serves on the South Carolina State Workforce Development Board and is president-elect of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind.
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Washington TimesMs. Graham, 62, had never previously held public office. The married mother of two, who is also a grandmother, has largely lived out of the public eye. She spent her career helping people with disabilities and most recently served as the commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind.
14 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 RealClearPolitics SCOTUS Joins Trump's Insidious War on Voting Rights
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02 Washington Examiner The 2026 Republican primary season has been laced with tests of Trump’s endorsement power as the president has chosen to weigh in on GOP races and actively play his hand in the midterm elections. His results have been somewhat mixed, with some notable losses in gubernatorial races in states such as Georgia and Iowa, but significant wins in hotly watched congressional races in states such as Kentucky and Louisiana.
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03 ABC News Norman, meanwhile, has said that his experience is his "resume" and that conservatives in the Palmetto State can trust him more than a relative unknown like Graham.
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04 The Guardian US Abortion rights group endorses Democrat Troy Jackson in critical Maine Senate race
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05 New York Post She previously bested Norman and several other contenders, including former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC), businessman Mark Lynch, and more, in the initial Aug. 11 special GOP Senate primary.
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06 NPR News The outcome of Tuesday's race will test President Trump's influence in the state.
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07 Fox News "So I've known her through Lindsey — I've known her for so long," he continued. "I think Lindsey respected Darline more than any other person he knows, including me."
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08 Breitbart Trump’s support did not keep ambitious Palmetto State politicos on the sidelines. Norman, Rep. Russell Fry, former governor and representative Mark Sanford, and others jumped into the race.
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09 The Federalist But Democrats may have helped Graham’s cause, too. She was viewed by many as the weaker of the two candidates in the GOP runoff — the one Dems would rather face in November. As conservative activist Tyler Bowyer noted, the Democrats who did not vote in the primary could opt to vote in the Republican primary runoff “for a second dip” in South Carolina’s open primaries.
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10 USA Today Here are the results for the GOP Senate runoff, according to the Associated Press and CNN.
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11 NBC News Florida Shark Attack Survivor Speaks out, Thanks Heroic Nurses 02:37 Now Playing Darline Graham Wins South Carolina GOP Senate Primary Runoff 02:45 UP NEXT Trump Administration Threatens to Demolish Kennedy Center 00:33 Canada Announces Counter-Tariffs on US as Trade War Ramps up 02:10 Dolly Parton Died After ‘Brief Battle With Cancer,’ Her Team Says 03:39 100-Pound Bear Spotted in Denver Neighborhood Tree 00:24 Two Climbers Rescued Near Big Sur After Being Stranded on Cliff 00:22 San Francisco 49ers Owner Arrested in Prostitution Bust 02:29 Toddler Wanders Onto Soccer Pitch: 'There's a Baby on the Field' 00:49 Alabama High School Football Team Ends Historic Losing Streak 01:20 Off-Duty Nurses Jump Into Action After Man is Bitten by Shark 02:43 The Future Is Here: Air Taxis Unveiled in Downtown Los Angeles 00:33 FDA Approves New Blood Test to Identify Signs of Alzheimer’s 00:28 Supreme Court Hands Preliminary Win to Trump on Mail-in Ballots 02:21 Canada Prepares to Retaliate on Trump's 50% Tariffs 02:12 Firefighters Finally Gain Upper Hand on Raging Nevada Wildfire 03:37 This Skateboarding School for Kids Teaches Tricks and Confidence 04:04 Phone Safety Settings Guide: What to Turn On vs.
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12 HuffPost The race had divided the world of Trump’s followers and supporters, with a considerable number breaking with Trump and backing Norman. The American Conservative Union, for example, which stages the various “Conservative Political Action Conferences” in the United States and abroad, and which in recent years has essentially become a propaganda arm for Trump, backed Norman over Graham.
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13 The Daily Wire “There’s nothing enormously special about him. But, you know what you’re going to get. He is a solid conservative voter,” Ryan Girdusky, a conservative political consultant, previously told The Daily Wire.
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14 Washington Times Her victory came with the help of President Trump, who enthusiastically endorsed her and hosted a get-out-the-vote rally in Myrtle Beach on Friday.
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