This briefing reflects reporting and polling available as of October 21, 2026. Candidates, endorsements and polling can change before Election Day on November 3, 2026.
Why This Race Matters
A Senate seat in one of the country’s most reliably Republican states has become competitive in the final weeks of the campaign. South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1998, as this South Carolina Public Radio report points out. Republican Sen. Darline Graham holds the seat once held by her brother, Lindsey Graham, who died in July, and she faces Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews. Whoever wins will be the first woman elected to the Senate from the state.
The Race
Lindsey Graham died on July 11 at age 71, weeks after winning renomination in June without a runoff. Gov. Henry McMaster appointed his sister to the seat on July 13 to serve through January 3, 2027. Because Lindsey Graham had been the Republican nominee, state law let the party hold a special primary to choose a replacement. Darline Graham ran with President Trump’s endorsement and won an August 25 runoff over Rep. Ralph Norman.
Andrews won the Democratic nomination on June 9. She previously lost a 2022 House race to Rep. Nancy Mace.
Polling shows a close race that still leans Republican. A Trafalgar Group poll released October 19 found Graham ahead 48.6% to 45.6%, with a margin of error just under three points. An InsiderAdvantage poll in early October had Graham at 46% and Andrews at 45%, with Libertarian Kasie Whitener at 2% and a candidate named Mark Hackett at 3%. This article could not verify who sponsored either poll, and it could not locate an October survey from a university pollster.
Forecasters rate the race Likely Republican. The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball both use that label, according to this Newsweek ratings report, in a state Trump carried by 18 points in 2024. Early voting runs from October 19 to October 31. This article could not locate Inside Elections’ current rating.
Spending has followed the polls. The Senate Leadership Fund, a PAC aligned with Senate Republican leadership, has put $5 million into the race to help Graham. This article could not locate complete, comparable fundraising totals for both candidates, so it does not report partial figures.
The Candidates
Darline Graham (Republican). A native of Central, South Carolina, Graham served on the state’s Commission for the Blind from 2019 until her appointment and had not run for office before this year. She is the first woman to represent the state in the Senate. McMaster said he was asking her to “finish his work.” Her campaign message centers on Trump’s endorsement, her brother’s legacy and the argument that Andrews is too far left. This article could not locate a policy platform published by Graham’s campaign, so her positions here come from her debate statements and campaign attacks.
Annie Andrews (Democrat). A pediatrician who left the Medical University of South Carolina in 2023 after about 15 years, Andrews founded a political group focused on children’s issues. Her platform puts health care first, and reporting on the debate describes her as backing a public option rather than Medicare for All. She opposes the Iran war and says she would work to lower gas and grocery prices, and her campaign says she supports suspending the gas tax. She has pledged to refuse corporate PAC money and to serve no more than two terms.
Third-party candidates. Libertarian Kasie Whitener, a radio host and professor, joined the October 11 debate and polled at 2% in one survey. He is on the ballot and, in a race decided by a few points, could affect the outcome. This article could not find analysis of which candidate his voters would otherwise support.
Top Issues
Health care. Andrews calls fixing health care her first priority and opposes Medicaid cuts. Graham says Andrews wants government-run health care for all, while Andrews’s reported position is a public option. The two descriptions differ, as the Evidence Check below explains.
The Iran war and prices. Andrews opposes the war and links it to higher gas and grocery prices. At the debate she accused Graham of voting three times to continue it, and Graham defended the administration’s approach. The vote count is Andrews’s claim and was not independently verified here.
Experience and independence. Each candidate calls the other unqualified, though neither has held elected office. Andrews says Graham would be a rubber stamp for the White House. Graham says Andrews would not stand up to the Democratic Party’s left.
Cultural issues and AI data centers. Scott Huffmon, a Winthrop University political scientist, has said Graham benefits from focusing on abortion and transgender topics, while Andrews benefits from focusing on prices and the economy. That is his analysis, not a measured result. AI data centers also came up at the debate, and this article could not locate the candidates’ specific positions on them.
Evidence Check
Graham: Andrews is tied to the Democratic Socialists of America and wants government-run health care for all. Graham made this case at the October 11 debate. Check: Reporting on the debate describes Andrews as supporting a public option rather than Medicare for All. This article could not locate an Andrews policy document and could not verify the Democratic Socialists connection beyond Graham’s assertion.
Graham: 84% of Andrews’s donors are from out of state. Check: This is Graham’s claim, and this article could not verify it against Federal Election Commission data.
Andrews: Graham is unserious and unqualified. Andrews used that language at the debate, citing a stumble by Graham on a foreign policy question in the Republican runoff. Check: This is an opinion. Graham has worked in state government but not in elected office, and Andrews has not held elected office either, so the experience gap is narrower than the rhetoric suggests.
Andrews: Graham voted three times to continue the Iran war. Check: This article could not verify the number of votes or which measures she means.
Supporter Voices
Reporting located for this briefing offers mostly national or institutional voices rather than local supporters by name, and it located no Graham supporter outside officeholders. Trump gave Graham his “Complete and Total Endorsement” shortly after her brother’s death, and McMaster chose her for the appointment. On the Democratic side, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg endorsed Andrews in August. At a primary-season event, one supporter, David Hunt, said he backs Andrews because “she’s going to fight for kids and healthcare.”
How This Race Is Being Framed
Republicans frame Andrews as a left-wing outsider and Darline Graham as a continuation of her brother’s work. Democrats frame Graham as an untested appointee who owes her position to a famous name and a president’s endorsement, and they frame Andrews as an independent voice on costs. Huffmon has noted that current polling resembles the 2020 contest between Lindsey Graham and Democrat Jaime Harrison, which Graham won. That comparison is a caution about close polls in the state, not a prediction.
The Senate Leadership Fund’s spending suggests Republicans take the race seriously. The final weeks will test whether the national mood over costs and the Iran war reaches voters in a state where Republicans have won every statewide federal race for decades.
Related Links
- Darline Graham avoids another gaffe: takeaways from the South Carolina Senate debate (CNN)
- South Carolina’s Senate race is more competitive than years past (South Carolina Public Radio)
- United States Senate election in South Carolina, 2026 (Ballotpedia)
- Lindsey Graham’s Death: A Divided Legacy and What It Means for the Senate
- The US-Iran War: Ceasefire Breakdown, Renewed Strikes, and a Last-Ditch Push for Talks
- Maine Senate 2026: Collins vs. Jackson After the Reset
- How U.S. Campaigns Are Funded: Donations, PACs, and Outside Spending
Discussion Questions
- Does it matter to you that Darline Graham was appointed rather than elected?
- Should a political newcomer count as qualified for the Senate? What experience matters most?
- Do you find Graham’s argument that Andrews is too far left or Andrews’s argument that Graham is a rubber stamp more persuasive?
- How much should a candidate’s family name matter in an election?
- Have you ever voted for a candidate outside your usual party? What made you do it?
- Why do polls in a state like South Carolina sometimes look closer than the final result?
- What matters more in a Senate race: national issues like the Iran war or local concerns like health care costs?
- Should candidates be required to take part in more than one debate?
- How should voters judge claims about where a candidate’s donations come from?
- Imagine you are advising a first-time candidate in a state that favors the other party. What message would you build, and why?
