Andrews defeats Graham in South Carolina Senate shocker

Dr. Annie Andrews will be the first Democratic senator from South Carolina since 1998, according to AP projections. In a stunning upset, she defeated the incumbent Republican Darline Graham, who was hand-picked by Donald Trump to succeed her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, following his death in July. 

A pediatrician, Andrews positioned herself as an antidote to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA agenda. Her campaign launch video hinged on measles outbreaks and the harm of anti-vax sentiments at the highest levels of public health. She described Kennedy as the “brain worm guy” and slammed Trump’s Cabinet as uniquely unsuited to their positions. 

The race was never supposed to be close. South Carolina is about as red as you can imagine. The haven of cheap gas and fireworks hasn’t elected any Democrat to statewide office since 2006. Trump carried the state by 17 points in 2024.

Unlike her sibling, who shifted from staunch Trump critic to late-in-life ally, Graham was joined at the hip to the Trump administration from the outset. The president’s high disapproval ratings worked to turn the typical GOP lay-up into a closely contested race. 

But Graham, a novice politician, did herself no favors. She flubbed softball questions around foreign affairs on the debate stage, a strong suit of her hawkish brother. Her dismal poll numbers pushed Trump to rally for Graham repeatedly in the state, cementing even stronger associations between the Republican nominee and Trump’s unpopular policies. 

High early turnout among Black voters in the state also spelled trouble for Graham. The community, which is largely Democratic, turned out in high relative numbers and helped swing the race toward Andrews. 

The Democratic candidate worked to avoid the associations with national party leaders that hamstrung Graham, refraining from appearances with prominent Democrats in the race’s final weeks. Andrews painted herself as a pragmatist, willing to work with national Republicans to score wins for South Carolinians. Late last month, Andrews received a shocking bipartisan endorsement from two former governors of South Carolina. Republican David Beasley joined Democrat Jim Hodges to support Andrews over Trump-backed Graham, saying Andrews was the only candidate focused on “making things better.”