President Trump’s surprise endorsement of Sen. Darline Graham to succeed her late brother in the Senate pits his powerful influence against the conservative establishment in the compressed Republican primary next month.
Ms. Graham, who was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster last week to serve as a temporary replacement after the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, announced Monday that she was vying to be more than a placeholder.
Ms. Graham told Fox News host Sean Hannity she planned to file this week to run for a full six-year term in the special Republican Senate primary slated for Aug. 11.
“I’ve made a decision,” she said. “I’m in.”
She already had Mr. Trump’s blessing, much to the dismay of the state’s hard-core conservatives who questioned her Republican bona fides and whether she was even qualified to run.
Ms. Graham announced her intention to run three days after Mr. Trump publicly called on her to replace her brother for a full term. His backing will likely propel her to front-runner status.
One top analyst familiar with South Carolina voters said the seat was hers for the taking.
“Darline will win if she runs,” said Matt Towery, founder of the survey site InsiderAdvantage, in an interview with The Washington Times.
Ms. Graham’s decision to jump into the race, and Mr. Trump’s backing, have incensed those who make up the deep-red state’s conservative backbone.
They feared the president had tipped the race to a political unknown to fill a critical Senate seat that was rarely open to new Republican candidates.
“We’re hearing from the grassroots of the grassroots. People that were OK with the appointment by Governor McMaster are telling me that they are not OK with the president’s endorsement because they don’t know her. They don’t know what she stands for. They don’t know what she believes in,” said Dorchester County Republican Party Chairman C.J. Westfall.
Mr. Westfall asked the state Republicans’ rules committee to examine whether she was qualified to run under the state’s new rules, adopted last month, which require Republican statewide candidates to have voted in at least two of the last three Republican primaries.
Mr. Westfall said Ms. Graham may have voted in only one recent primary and would require a waiver from the state’s Republican leaders to qualify for the Senate primary.
“Equal application of our rules protects both the integrity of our nomination process and the confidence Republican voters place in it,” he said.
The Washington Times sought comment from Ms. Graham’s spokesperson.
Even with Mr. Trump’s endorsement and her temporary appointment, Ms. Graham will not automatically win a spot on the November ballot. She will have to prevail against more experienced and well-known conservative lawmakers who have either announced their candidacy or are considering one.
The filing period opens Tuesday and ends July 28, the same day as Mr. Graham’s memorial service in Washington.
Candidates vying to replace him so far include Rep. Ralph Norman, who represents South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District. Mr. Norman, 73, announced his candidacy as a “proven conservative” and was endorsed by Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah, both among the most conservative senators.
Mr. Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, also has the backing of the influential conservative political advocacy group Turning Point Action.
“Ralph is a good man and has been one of the most conservative stalwarts in the South. We need his help in South Carolina in 2028!” Tyler Bowyer, chief operating officer of Turning Point USA, posted on X.
Rep. Russell Fry, who represents the Chesterfield and Florence region, announced he was also running in the primary.
Despite not having Mr. Trump’s official endorsement, Mr. Fry, 41, predicted he “will be President Trump’s favorite U.S. Senator” and “a MAGA fighter.”
Other potential candidates include Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who fell short in the June Republican primary for governor. Rep. Nancy Mace, who represents Charleston and also lost the Republican gubernatorial primary, said Monday she would not get into the race to succeed Mr. Graham.
Ms. Graham, 62, has never held elected office. Her career has centered on the state’s disabled population, and she recently served on the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. She appeared in two campaign ads for her brother but has mostly remained out of the public eye.
“I’ve been praying a lot and talking to my family. I know I’m a hard worker. I learned that from Lindsey,” Ms. Graham, who dropped the use of her married name when she took office last week, said on Fox. “He cared about the people of this state. I’ve worked for almost 30 years for the people of this state. I feel like I can do it. I feel an inner peace about it. Will it be difficult? Yes.”
Shortly after she announced her plan to run in the primary, Ms. Graham received an endorsement from Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican.
Mr. Towery said Ms. Graham has several significant advantages over the other candidates, in addition to the president’s endorsement. Mr. Graham was a prolific fundraiser, and his campaign war chest had more than $4 million in cash on hand at the time of his death at age 71 from what a preliminary medical examiner’s finding described as an aortic dissection because of arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Mr. Graham’s campaign funds cannot, under the law, be directly transferred to his sister or to any other person who runs to succeed him.
It can be transferred to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is permitted to coordinate with Ms. Graham, or whoever is running for the seat, and use it to help the candidate win.
The NRSC is headed by Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina Republican, who, when asked about Ms. Graham running for a full term, said, “Why not her?”
He is not officially endorsing anyone, though.
“She will have all of Lindsey’s money,” Mr. Towery predicted.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, was staying out of the battle to succeed his longtime friend and colleague. He would not endorse Ms. Graham or anyone else.
“I think she obviously carries on Lindsey’s legacy,” Mr. Thune said. “But I think she’s a very accomplished person in her own right, and so she has a right like anybody else to get into that race.”
Ms. Graham lost both her parents at age 13. She was raised by her brother, who was nine years her senior.
Mr. Graham was also a close adviser to Mr. Trump. The president spoke with him hours before his sudden death.
Mr. Trump said he asked Ms. Graham to run for the seat permanently during her visit to him last week.
“I hope Darline does this, in that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social. “We have known each other for a long time — She is a spectacular person, and a true American Patriot.”
• Lindsey McPherson and Seth McLaughlin contributed to this report.
