South Carolina Picks a Republican Candidate for the Senate Seat Left Open by Lindsey Graham's Death

South Carolina Republicans voted on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, in a special primary election. The goal was to choose a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat left open by the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham. The leading candidate was Darline Graham, who had been appointed to fill the seat temporarily and had the backing of President Trump. She faced competition from Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry (NPR).

Lindsey Graham died unexpectedly on July 11, 2026 (AP). He had held the Senate seat since 2002. Three days after his death, on July 14, Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham to finish her late brother's term, and she was sworn in at the U.S. Capitol (NPR). She announced on July 20 that she would run for a full term of her own (AP), and President Trump endorsed her in the special primary (NPR).

This was the second Senate primary for South Carolina Republicans in 2026. Lindsey Graham had already won a regular primary on June 9 with 264,091 votes, or 56.8%, according to certified results (AP). The AP called that race at 5:57 p.m. on election night (AP). A candidate identified as Lynch came in second with nearly 29% (Reuters). Graham won that primary by nearly 28 percentage points (Reuters; AP).

Because Lindsey Graham died after winning the June primary but before the November general election, the state had to hold a special election. The winner of the August 11 special primary moves on to the general election on November 3, 2026 (SC Votes).

Rep. Ralph Norman joined the special primary after placing third in the state's June 2026 Republican primary for governor. He picked up endorsements from Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida (NPR). Rep. Russell Fry, another candidate in the race, had beaten former Rep. Tom Rice in a 2022 primary after Rice voted to impeach Trump over the January 6 insurrection (NPR).

The State Election Commission said its early voting period ended on August 10, with more than 61,000 votes already cast (SC Votes). The commission had earlier reminded voters about absentee deadlines in a July 23 press release (SC Votes).

The ballot changed late in the process. A court order on August 4 told the State Election Commission to add a candidate to the ballot, and the commission confirmed the addition on August 3 (SC Votes).

South Carolina's Republican primary rules say a candidate must win more than half the votes, not just the most votes. If no one reached that majority on August 11, a runoff election between the top two candidates was set for August 25 (NPR).

The special primary squeezed what would normally be a months-long campaign into about three weeks, from Darline Graham's swearing-in to the vote. Her appointment gave her advantages that come with being the incumbent, such as fundraising connections and name recognition from her brother's long career. But the short timeline also made it hard for her opponents to build a statewide campaign operation, which was especially tough for challengers counting on grassroots support rather than established political networks.

Norman's endorsements pointed to the conservative side of the Senate, with Lee and Scott both aligned with the fiscal-hawk and Trump-adjacent wings of the party. Fry's 2022 win over Rice, which was driven by the impeachment vote, showed how loyalty to Trump remained a key dividing line in South Carolina Republican primaries.

The winner of the Republican primary will be heavily favored in November. South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1998. The broader question for the GOP is whether the special primary produces a nominee who can hold the seat without dividing a state party that has already seen competitive primaries up and down the ballot throughout 2026.