UPDATED, 8/12/26 | Tuesday’s special primary for the state Republican Party’s quest for a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat held by the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is headed to a runoff in two weeks – as expected in the 10-way race.
Graham’s sister Darline, installed in July in her brother’s seat until the current term runs out in January, was the top primary vote-getter, nabbing 32.7% of the 335,017 votes cast statewide. Her opponent in an Aug. 25 runoff from the crowded Tuesday contest will be U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, a York County Republican who placed third in the June Republican gubernatorial primary.
“I’ve been accused of not being a politician: guilty as charged,” Darline Graham said in a statement Tuesday night. “Thank you to every single South Carolina voter who has put their faith in me. Now as we look ahead to the next two weeks, I will work as hard as I can to earn the honor of representing our great state in the Senate and fighting for our conservative agenda.”
As early returns flowed in, it was unclear whether Norman or U.S. Rep. Russell Fry of Horry County would face Graham. But as the night wore on, Norman grew a second-place lead to almost 17,000 votes, or 24.64% of the total. Fry captured 19.63% of votes. He remains on the 7th Congressional District ballot as the Republican nominee in the November election.
Norman said he was humbled by the support he received Tuesday.
“When I entered this race, I asked South Carolinians to judge me – not by what I said, but by what I did; and they overwhelmingly supported our message,” he said in a statement. “Tonight, voters made it clear they want a proven conservative with a record of getting the job done on the ballot for the U.S. Senate, and as we advance to the runoff, that’s exactly what I’ll give them.”
The runoff ahead
Winthrop University political scientist Scott Huffmon late Tuesday said Norman’s third-place finish in June’s gubernatorial primary really paid off in the special Senate primary.
“He and Fry both have solid conservative bona fides, but the state learned about Ralph’s credentials in that [gubernatorial] race,” the pollster said. “It only garnered him 17.1% since he had to spend money to get known, but now that he is known to the conservative activists around the state, they began to coalesce behind him.
“If the people who were voting ‘against’ Graham for a candidate who didn’t make the runoff decide to register that dissatisfaction with the traditional party again – those votes [in the runoff] will go to Norman if – IF – those people show up to vote in the runoff.”
And that’s the challenge for Graham and Norman, he said – getting people to the polls.
“Motivating a very small, hard-to-target group when there is so much noise, it is hard to get the signal through to anyone, much less the ‘right’ people.”
Greenville political observer Chip Felkel, who has worked in GOP politics for years, said he expected Darline Graham to place first.
“She had the president’s strong endorsement and she had Lindsey’s operation behind her and she was anticipated to finish first,” he said Tuesday night before all of the votes were counted. “The question is who is going to be second. It sets up a very interesting possible dynamic between strongly endorsed Darline Graham versus Ralph Norman who supported (former Gov.) Nikki Haley,” who ran against Trump in 2024.
The runoff victor will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews and several third-party candidates in the November general election.
The other GOP candidates
In the crowded Tuesday contest, former Gov. Mark Sanford of Mount Pleasant captured 14.93% of votes and Upstate businessman Mark Lynch got 5.93%. Five other candidates got less than 1% each. They included (in alphabetical order) Duke Buckner, Danny Ford II, Mark Lynch, Mark McBride, Glenda Gail Parker and Sam Shepherd.
The Republican Party needs a new candidate to replace Lindsey Graham on the November ballot after his unexpected July 11 death from a reported aortic tear caused by cardiovascular disease. Two days after Graham’s death, Gov. Henry McMaster appointed his sister to fill his seat through January when the term ends. She was sworn in July 14.
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