Darline Graham, Trump-endorsed, tops GOP primary to fill late Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat; will face Norman in runoff

Sen. Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, won first place in the Republican primary to fill his U.S. Senate seat for a six-year term, according to a report published Tuesday by The Washington Times Politics. The result moves Graham to a runoff contest against Josh Norman, the candidate described in the report as her opponent in the next stage of the race.

The race follows the unexpected death of Lindsey Graham, who represented South Carolina in the Senate. Darline Graham sought to carry forward the seat through South Carolina’s replacement process, which requires a primary runoff when no candidate clears an initial threshold.

The Washington Times report also says the contest drew attention from President Donald Trump and that Graham’s candidacy carried his endorsement. The article frames the runoff as the next procedural step before a final party nomination for the seat.

Graham’s advancement means the runoff will determine which Republican nominee proceeds toward the general election for the remaining term. The report characterizes the matchup as a direct contest between Graham and Norman after the first primary results.

A practical impact of the runoff is that it compresses campaigning and voter outreach into a shorter window than a full primary field would have allowed, while also sharpening contrasts on issues likely to be evaluated by South Carolina Republican voters. The runoff can also affect how quickly national and state political organizations weigh resources and messaging for the general election.

The next step in the process is for South Carolina election officials to certify the runoff participants and for the campaign to proceed on the scheduled runoff date set by state law and election administration. After the runoff, the winner would advance as the Republican nominee for the Senate seat in the general election.