South Carolina Republicans line up to run in special primary to replace late Sen. Lindsey Graham

By — Meg Kinnard, Associated Press Meg Kinnard, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/south-carolina-republicans-line-up-to-run-in-special-primary-to-replace-late-sen-lindsey-graham Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter South Carolina Republicans line up to run in special primary to replace late Sen. Lindsey Graham Politics Jul 28, 2026 10:52 AM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The field of Republican candidates vying to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham on November ballots is nearly set, with at least 10 hopefuls filing their paperwork and launching into a two-week sprint toward the Aug. 11 special GOP primary. WATCH LIVE: Sen. Lindsey Graham remembered in funeral service at Washington National Cathedral It's been a jumbled and frenetic period during what would have otherwise been Graham's expected glide path toward a fifth term. He won his June primary outright, and no Democrat has won a statewide-elected office in South Carolina for two decades. Graham's sudden death earlier this month at age 71 has sparked a rushed and compressed process leading to a special primary election in just two weeks. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. The close of a one-week filing period for the South Carolina contest comes Tuesday, the same day as the first of two funerals across Washington and Graham's home state. The rare open Senate seat has drawn some of the state's top Republicans, longshots, familiar faces — and Graham's sister. If no candidate receives a majority vote, a runoff election will be held Aug. 25. Darline Graham, the interim appointee, is a political unknown For years, Darline Graham had been her older brother's political confidant, appearing in his ads, by his side at rallies and an indelible part of his biography, from their shared roughshod beginnings to his adoption of her following their parents' deaths. READ MORE: 'I'm in.' Darline Graham says she will run for a full term in Lindsey Graham's Senate seat In the hours after her brother died, Darline Graham stepped into Lindsey Graham's shoes in the Senate as the appointee to fulfill the remaining months of his current term, selected by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to serve until January . Now she's running for the nomination to replace him more permanently. Darline Graham is a political unknown to the South Carolina voters who for decades returned her brother to Washington. Although she had been part of his campaigns, she's never been a political commodity in her own right, and there have been questions in South Carolina's GOP circles over whether goodwill toward her brother's memory is enough to send her to the Senate. For now, Darline Graham is surrounded by her late brother's official and political staff. She had the support of President Donald Trump — to whom her brother was a top congressional ally — to seek the seat,