President Trump is headed to the Palmetto State to try to resuscitate the SC Republican primary campaign of Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC).
Appointed by Governor Henry McMaster at the urging of Donald Trump to fill the Senate seat held by her late brother (Lindsey Graham), Darline Graham will face SC Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC) in the runoff.
For reasons unknown, Graham, 62, made the decision to change the spelling of her first name from Darlene to Darline at the behest of her brother and has dropped her married name of Nordone.
During a recent debate with Norman she raised eyebrows when asked about the status of Taiwan and the South China Sea as national security issues, Graham fumbled the ball.
“I’m just gonna be honest here,” she said, “I’m not that informed on national security…”
In an equally troubling effort to rebound, she said, “I’m not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise…”
The lack of political experience is clear in her work history in the Palmetto State. Until her appointment by McMaster, Graham’s political experience consisted of working in the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department and an appointed position with the South Carolina Commission for the Blind as agency head. She also volunteered with her brother’s election campaigns.
During the same debate, Graham made another gaffe — misstating the population of her home state. According to her, there are “50 million people in South Carolina.” The state’s population is about 5.6 million.
Conservative South Carolina talk-show host Tara Servatius (98.9 WORD) posted this comment on X: “DEVASTATING: Darline Graham can’t answer a softball question about China and Taiwan, admitting she doesn’t know much about foreign policy … while my stunned 16-year-old answered it off the top of his head. And he’s not even running for the US Senate.”
As reported by the Daily Beast, MediaTouch editor Ron Filipkowski said of Trump’s effort, “Trump’s endorsement of obviously unqualified Darline Graham for US Senate shows the contempt that he has for voters and people in South Carolina, most of whom will continue to support him and maybe even vote for her. So perhaps his contempt for those particular voters is justified.”
Graham has made clear her position on traditional Republican-loved cultural issues. She is a “conservative Republican, and I believe this: Every life is precious, men don’t belong in women’s sports, and only American citizens should vote in our elections,” she stated in a recent ad.
Graham’s appeal won’t distinguish her from her primary opponent, U.S. Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC) of the state’s 5th Congressional District. The 73-year-old Norman, though a verbal supporter of term limits, has been in Congress since 2017.
Regarding LGBTQ+ issues, Norman posted on his blog in 2023, “I’ll say it: I’m fed up with transgender activism. It’s gone off the deep end … It’s an attempt to desensitize Americans, in order to normalize something the majority of Americans view as abnormal.”
It’s unclear who will win next Tuesday, but they’ll face off against Democratic challenger and Charleston resident Dr. Annie Andrews. Andrews is a pediatric hospitalist who ran unsuccessfully in 2022 against Nancy Mace to represent the Palmetto State’s 1st congressional district.
This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.
