Register for free to manage your followed authors and newsletters in one place.
Sign in to load the authors you follow. ' +
'Sign in
You are not following any authors yet. ' +
'Use the follow buttons on stories or staff pages to build your list.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Just two months after nominating Lindsey Graham to return to the U.S. Senate, South Carolina Republicans cast ballots Tuesday in a special primary to pick a replacement following the sudden death of the president’s close ally.
Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, a political unknown tapped to serve the final months of her brother’s term, sought to overcome skepticism about her lack of experience in her campaign to replace him. She picked up President Donald Trump’s swift endorsement though the rare open Senate seat has attracted a broad field, including some of the state’s top Republicans.
For decades, South Carolina voters reliably returned Lindsey Graham to Washington despite periodic primary challengers who accused the dealmaker and foreign policy hawk of being insufficiently conservative.
Tuesday’s contest featured one of Lindsey Graham’s earlier foes, as well as two U.S. House members and Mark Sanford, the former governor and congressman seeking a political comeback in a field crowded with familiar faces. Polls closed at 7 p.m. EDT, and the top two candidates could be headed to a runoff in two weeks if no one clears a majority of the votes cast Tuesday.
Lindsey Graham died July 11 after suffering a tear in his aorta at his Washington home.
PHOTOS: South Carolina Republicans hold primary to pick Senate replacement for the late Lindsey Graham
Before funeral observances in Washington and South Carolina had even concluded, the campaign was on. State law proscribed a compressed timeline that forced candidates to navigate the decorum of mourning the senator’s death while jockeying to replace him.
A day after Graham’s death was announced, his sister accepted Republican Gov. Henry McMaster’s appointment to succeed her brother in an interim capacity and was sworn in with her family and the late senator’s staff standing behind her.
A week later, Darline Graham launched into the campaign herself, encouraged to run and then endorsed by Trump.
Some voters said her brother’s reputation helped tilt them to support Darline Graham.
“She’s not a politician, but she was kin to probably one of the greatest senators ever,” Frank Bohn of Horry County said.
While Darline Graham couldn’t directly access the millions in Lindsey Graham’s campaign account, there was no limit to how much could be transferred to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which funded advertising to support her.
Source: Read the original article on www.washingtontimes.com
