UPDATED, 7 a.m., Nov. 4, 2026 | Annie Andrews, the Lowcountry pediatrician who campaigned for more than a year as a Democratic challenger to a four-term Republican in the U.S. Senate, accomplished something Tuesday that most didn’t think was possible – a major victory as a Democrat in ruby-red South Carolina.
But the projected win came after a twist of fate that saw the unexpected July 11 death of a Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham. Andrews shifted her campaign to blend messages of health care and affordability with a focus on the unpopular, ethically-challenged Trump administration and the inexperience of her new opponent – newly appointed GOP incumbent, Darline Graham, Lindsey’s sister.
As of Wednesday morning with all counties reporting, Andrews had a 4.4 percentage lead by winning 51.1 percent of the vote compared to 46.7% garnered by Darline Graham, who was appointed July 13 by S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster, with the blessing of President Donald Trump. By 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, the Associated Press called the race for Andrews as the victor. She got 1,042,363 votes to Graham’s 951,165 votes out of 2 million cast.
In a statement, Andrews said the results sent a clear message and pledged to work for South Carolina: “This Senate seat doesn’t belong to one family, one party, or Washington. It belongs to you — and it always will. … “Nobody in Washington recruited me to run. Nobody handed me this seat. Nobody wrote my scripts. I owe no one in Washington anything. But I owe the people of South Carolina everything. And that’s exactly who I’ll answer to.”
Congressional races
Meanwhile in South Carolina congressional politics, Democratic candidates running in the Lowcountry seemed to have success in a national election environment that brought a “blue wave” of wins across the country.
In the First Congressional District, retired Admiral Nancy Lacore, a Democrat, led the GOP’s Jenny Honeycutt by more than 3,000 votes out of 326,012 votes with all precincts reporting. Lacore was projected to win, but the race had not been called by this morning.
In the Sixth Congressional District, longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, who represents much of the peninsula and West Ashley, crushed his opponent by 39 points. With all counties reporting, he got 180,559 votes (60.4%) to Republican John Peterson’s 79,497 votes (30.5%). The Associated Press called the race for Clyburn.
Lackluster GOP campaign
For months, Andrews, who lost a coastal congressional bid in 2024, pushed South Carolinians to listen to her plans on health care and the nation’s sputtering economy. And while messages resonated and she built name recognition, chance and national politics played major roles in Andrews’ Tuesday win.
First, Andrews benefited from generally lackluster campaigning by Darline Graham, the political newbie who said when she was appointed “Lindsey has always been there for me, and now, I will be there for him. It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States.”
In mid-August, Graham got just under a third of the vote in a 10-way special primary. At the end of the month after a Myrtle Beach rally by Trump, the political novice won the special primary runoff with a 5-point victory over retiring U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill. She nabbed just over 18,000 votes of 370,000 cast with a strong showing in the Midlands, Lowcountry and Grand Strand. But she came up short in several Upstate counties near her home where Norman had commanding leads.
During campaigning, Graham occasionally stumbled. In an Aug. 18 debate, she admitted that she was “not that informed on national security,” a stark contrast to her brother. As the November election drew near, she was criticized for foul language about her opponent.
Tough cycle for Republicans
Andrews also benefited from an apparent blue wave that propelled Democratic candidates to Congress across the country. Projections showed Democratic candidates were likely to retake the U.S. House in the midterm elections and probably would recapture the majority in the U.S. Senate.
The party’s strength was due to a confluence of dwindling support for the Trump agenda brought on by high prices for fuel and food as well as economically destabilizing tariffs, an unpopular war in Iran and controversies on everything from corruption to the Epstein files.
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