Graham, Andrews, Clyburn win primaries, but 1st District races go to runoffs

Updated 6:30 a.m., June 10, 2026 | Two Washington political veterans with national profiles handily fended off primary challengers in South Carolina’s Tuesday primary elections, but voters across South Carolina aren’t done yet. They’ll head back to the polls June 23 after majority winners were not picked in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.

Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a top ally of President Donald Trump, cruised to a primary victory Tuesday with 56.8% of the vote against five challengers. Graham, a four-term Senate incumbent who earlier served eight years in the U.S. House, spent millions to fend off a challenge from the far right by Greenville businessman Mark Lynch.

In the general election, Graham will face Dr. Annie Andrews, a Democrat who beat two candidates in Tuesday’s primary when she also nabbed 61.5% of the vote. Also expected on the general election ballot for the seat are eight third-party candidates.

In the Democratic primary for the 6th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a party “kingmaker” with 17 terms of House service under his belt, walloped a sole challenger by winning 90.3% of the vote against challenger Frederick Goodwin. Clyburn, who was targeted last month by S.C. House Republicans who wanted to redraw his district in the middle of the decade, will advance to the general election to face Republican John Peterson who tallied 74% of the primary vote against former Charleston GOP Chairman Maurice Washington.

In a statement, Clyburn said, “South Carolina has made tremendous progress, but a lot still needs to be done. The current administration in Washington, the current leadership of the Congress, and a majority of the Supreme Court seem to be hellbent on turning the clock back.

“If reelected, I promise to fight against the forces of retrogression, continue standing up for the values and interests that matter most to all South Carolinians and continue our pursuit towards a more perfect union.”

Two runoffs set for the 1st District

Meanwhile in the Charleston area, Democrats and Republicans will return to the polls June 23 to pick their party candidates for the 1st Congressional District seat that is open because the incumbent, GOP U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, ran for governor.

On Tuesday, Democrats narrowed seven choices to two – retired Admiral Nancy Lacore, who got about 36.5% of the vote, and Mount Pleasant lawyer Mac Deford who got 28.9%.

Among the 10 Republicans running for the Lowcountry seat that stretches from Charleston County to Jasper County, a runoff appeared to be set between Charleston County Council member Jenny Honeycutt (22.1%) and S.C. Rep. Mark Smith (18%). Dr. Sam McCown, who was in third place after having spent big on television ads, appeared to miss the runoff by garnering 15.7% – about two points less than Smith. Interestingly, former Gov. Mark Sanford, who suspended his campaign on April 30 after having second thoughts of running for the congressional seat he once held, came in fourth after winning 12.1 percent of the vote.

More voters than usual went to polls

With so many candidates and races on ballots Tuesday, elections across the state produced the largest primary turnout in recent memory. Possible reasons range from irritated voters who wanted to send messages to incumbents about what they’re not doing and the economy to so many candidates on ballots whose combined turnout efforts attracted voters.

Particularly notable was the number of voters who went to the polls in the two weeks before the election when more than 318,000 voters cast ballots. That was well above the total turnout in the two earlier early voting results.

A rule of thumb in South Carolina primaries is that 20% or less of registered voters head to the polls. This year, some 25.3 % of registered voters – more than 850,000 of 3.4 million – cast ballots in the GOP and Democratic elections on Tuesday. Compare those results to the previous two elections in 2024 (439,766 voters or 13.6%) and 2022 (565,538 or 17%).

Candidates in primary runoffs will have their work cut out for them as those elections typically see abysmal participation. But high-profile runoffs in state and federal elections may lure voters back to the polls.

Other congressional races

S.C.-2: Republican incumbent Joe Wilson tallied 74% of the primary vote on Tuesday to fend off two challengers. He will face the winner of a June 23 Democratic runoff race between David Robinson II and Zyon Khalifa.

S.C.-3: Incumbent Republican Sheri Biggs had no primary challenger, but will face Democratic candidate Eunice Lehmacher, who won 53.4% of votes in a two-way primary, and Libertarian Brian Corriea.

S.C.-4: Incumbent GOP Rep. William Timmons fended off two primary challengers by tallying 65.8% of the vote Tuesday. He will face Democratic challenger Courtney McClain and Libertarian Jessica Ethridge.

S.C.-5: In an open seat in the Rock Hill area, GOP state Sen. Wes Climer had no primary challenger. He will face Democratic candidate Mallory Dittmer, who won 55.8% of votes in a two-way primary, and Andy Kaplan of the Forward Party.

S.C.-7: Incumbent U.S. Rep. Russell Fry had no primary challenger and will face Democratic nominee John Vincent in the fall.