Darline Graham, Ralph Norman go head-to-head in South Carolina’s GOP Senate runoff

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Darline Graham and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman face South Carolina voters yet again Tuesday in a special Republican primary runoff to replace the late Lindsey Graham in the Senate, one month after his sudden death.

The 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.

In the background of all of this is President Donald Trump, the longtime Lindsey Graham ally who endorsed Darline Graham’s candidacy to replace her brother in the November general election before she even entered the race, stumped for her in the state days ahead of the runoff and held a runoff-eve tele-rally with Graham.

On Monday, MAGA Inc., the super PAC that supports Trump and aligned Republicans — but has spent little thus far on Trump’s picks in this year’s midterms — infused nearly $830,000 into Graham’s campaign for voter calls and text message blasts.

Among the unknowns are if Trump’s backing is enough to boost the novice candidate with the famous last name, but whose political positions were previously unknown, across the finish line to the nomination. Also yet to be determined is if Norman’s hard-line conservatism has an appeal statewide, two months after he finished third in the Republican governor’s primary.

Will Trump’s backing be enough for Graham?

After losing a top Senate advocate when Lindsey Graham died July 11, Trump has angled to play a role in picking his successor.

Trump heralded the selection of Darline Graham to serve as her brother’s interim replacement as “a fabulous tribute.” He also urged her to run in the special primary, endorsing her before she’d made her candidacy official.

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 want it to happen,” he said. “Good luck, Darline.”

In forging a relationship with her, Trump could be angling to develop another ally to help steer his agenda through the Senate.

Throughout her brief campaign, Graham did just that. She repeatedly stressed to voters her intent to support Trump’s policy positions and often referenced in particular her co-sponsorship of a voting bill that’s become a key priority for the president.

Casting his ballot for Graham at an early voting location near Trump’s rally site, Robert Tropiano said Friday that the president’s backing for the candidate was enough to win his support.

“Trump wants her, he’s doing a great job and I believe we should give him what he wants,” Tropiano said.

In the primary’s opening days, when she was largely absent from candidate events due to her obligations as a sitting senator, Graham reminded voters via video messages that she remained in Washington “working hard for you” and decried the notion of congressional recess breaks.

Norman promotes legislative know-how over Graham’s inexperience

Fresh off his unsuccessful primary run for governor, Norman entered the Senate contest as one of several politicians more familiar to South Carolina voters. He snapped up endorsements from the likes of Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah, as well as former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint and Turning Point Action, the conservative youth movement founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

During the sprint to the runoff, Norman — one of the most conservative U.S. House members — frequently touted his experience in Washington and willingness to take unpopular stances. That includes at times challenging Trump, whose policies Norman has routinely supported in Congress. But Norman campaigned against Trump in the early part of the 2024 presidential primary, siding instead with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

A wealthy developer before he entered politics, Norman has put some of his own fortune toward the campaign, including more than $1 million in the closing week.

In the head-to-head with Graham, he’s stressed what he characterized as the highly managed nature of Graham’s campaign. He portrayed her during an interview with The Associated Press as beholden to “Washington elite” special interests that, by way of funneling money to her campaign, were “dictating the terms and giving her the political answers.”

Will Graham’s debate flub come back to haunt her?

Graham and Norman met for a single runoff debate, and there was one moment from the hourlong face-off that lived on.

Graham stumbled over a question about foreign policy — a signature issue of her late brother — when asked whether the U.S. has a national security interest in Taiwan and the South China Sea, a longstanding contention of both Democratic and Republican administrations.

She struggled to answer before admitting “national security is not my thing” and “I’m not that informed on national security.”

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.

The Democratic nominee was chosen months ago

Annie Andrews, a Charleston physician, won her party’s primary in June outright. Having set up her entire campaign based around challenging Lindsey Graham, Andrews has been forced to pivot to a broader critique of the Republican contenders.

No Democrat has won a U.S. Senate seat in South Carolina in decades. When Graham last ran in 2020, he defeated his Democratic opponent by a 10 percentage point margin.

That contest was the most expensive in state history, and among the country’s most expensive congressional races ever.

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Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP