South Carolina GOP runoff tests Trump’s sway in Senate race
What’s next: Tuesday’s winner between Darline Graham and Ralph Norman will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.
Republican voters in South Carolina head to the polls Tuesday for a Senate nomination runoff that has become an early test of President Donald Trump’s influence in the 2026 midterms. Trump traveled to Myrtle Beach on Friday to rally for Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, against Rep. Ralph Norman, a Freedom Caucus member who has argued his experience makes him the stronger conservative choice. The race tightened after Graham stumbled in a debate when asked about Taiwan and the South China Sea, saying national security was not her area of expertise. The winner will take the GOP slot on November’s ballot in the heavily Republican state.