Trump-Backed Darline Graham Wins South Carolina Senate Runoff

Darline Graham had the famous last name.

President Donald Trump supplied the political muscle.

Together, they were enough to send South Carolina’s newest senator into November as the Republican nominee for a full six-year term.

Graham defeated Rep. Ralph Norman in Tuesday’s GOP runoff, completing a remarkable rise for a political newcomer who entered the Senate only last month after the sudden death of her brother, longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Gov. Henry McMaster initially appointed Graham to finish the remaining months of her brother’s term.

Trump had bigger plans.

“I asked her to do this,” Trump told supporters while campaigning for Graham in Myrtle Beach last week. “I said, ‘Darline, you got to do it,’ because everyone loves her. Everyone respects her.”

The president’s endorsement gave Graham instant credibility in a short, bruising campaign against Norman, a veteran congressman with an established conservative record.

Trump also made the race personal.

“I think Lindsey respected Darline more than any other person he knows, including me,” he told the crowd.

Graham entered the contest with just weeks to introduce herself to voters statewide. But South Carolina Republicans knew the Graham name — and they knew Trump wanted her in the seat.

Graham now advances to November with a chance to turn what began as a temporary appointment into six years in the United States Senate.

Darline remembered her brother after winning the runoff.

“Thank you, Lindsey, for your service to South Carolina and to this country. It’s just not the same without you here,” she told supporters.

Watch the clip below:

“Thank you, Lindsey, for your service to South Carolina and to this country. It’s just not the same without you here.”

Darline Graham gets emotional remembering her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, after winning South Carolina’s GOP Senate primary runoff.

Graham paid tribute… pic.twitter.com/SZXlxnePbE

— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 26, 2026