Sen. Darline Graham, sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, is being encouraged by President Donald Trump to run this fall for a full six-year term. Graham was appointed to fill her brother’s seat through the end of the year.
Lindsey Graham had been up for reelection this fall, but his sudden death prompted South Carolina to schedule an emergency Republican primary ahead of November’s general election.
“We have known each other for a long time,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “She is a spectacular person, and a true American Patriot. Lindsey was one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, and his sister shares his deep love of our Country, and the State of South Carolina. During her visit, I asked Darline, for the Good of our Nation, to run for the U.S. Senate in the Special Republican Primary on Tuesday, August 11, 2026. I hope Darline does this, in that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey.”
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Graham has limited time to decide whether to run for the seat. South Carolina set a July 28 filing deadline for candidates seeking to enter the Aug. 11 primary.
Semafor reported that Graham is considering a run. Trump’s endorsement could help clear the field, as several Republicans have been mentioned as potential candidates for the seat.
Rep. Ralph Norman announced Saturday on Fox News that he intends to run. Mark Lynch, who unsuccessfully challenged Lindsey Graham earlier this year in the original GOP primary, also announced another bid for the seat.
Whoever wins the Republican primary will immediately become the favorite in the November general election. Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate race in South Carolina since Fritz Hollings was reelected in 1998. Physician Annie Andrews won the Democratic primary in June and is considered a heavy underdog.
Immediate family members stepping into Senate roles is not without precedent. In 2000, weeks before the November election, Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash. After Carnahan was posthumously elected to the Senate, his widow, Jean Carnahan, was appointed to the seat.
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Sen. Carnahan later lost a 2002 special election to serve the remainder of the term.
Like Darline Graham, Carnahan entered the Senate with no prior political experience.
Muriel Humphrey joined the Senate in 1978 after being appointed to temporarily fill the seat held by her late husband, Sen. Hubert Humphrey. Unlike Carnahan, she chose not to run to remain in the Senate.