South Carolina GOP Senate primary heads to August 25 runoff after no candidate wins majority

Primary results

South Carolina's special Republican Senate primary on Tuesday produced no outright winner, sending a crowded nine-candidate contest to a runoff on August 25. Senator Darline Graham, endorsed by President Donald Trump and already serving out the remainder of her late brother Lindsey Graham's term, advanced to the second round, according to a projection by Decision Desk HQ. Representative Ralph Norman and Representative Russell Fry were close behind as votes were counted, though the articles did not yet specify which candidate would join Graham in the runoff. The eventual Republican nominee will be heavily favored against Democrat Annie Andrews in November, in a state where Democrats have not won a U.S. Senate election since 1998.

The leading candidates

Graham, 62, cast herself as a political outsider who can continue her brother's constituent-focused work while serving as a reliable vote for Trump's agenda. A longtime advocate for disability rights, she most recently served as commissioner of a state agency for blind residents. At a debate last week, she said she would support eliminating the Senate filibuster, a move her brother opposed, and passing the SAVE America Act, a voting restrictions bill that is a top Trump priority.

Norman, 73, a five-term congressman and vice chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, campaigned as a proven conservative with a record voters could judge. He endorsed Nikki Haley over Trump in the 2024 presidential primary, a decision that may have cost him Trump's backing in this race. Norman came in third in the Republican primary for governor earlier this year, behind Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson.

Fry, 41, a two-term congressman, presented himself as a next-generation conservative. In 2022, he ousted former Representative Tom Rice, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021. Fry is simultaneously running for Senate and re-election to his House seat, a situation he acknowledged is "odd" but noted his House seat would remain safely Republican. His rivals have criticized him for risking leaving Republicans a member short, especially if they hold their narrow House majority. At a candidate event, Fry made the case for generational change.

The Senate is an older body, and I think that's what people want -- they want fresh energy in there. The old way of doing things, that's why people are ticked.

Sanford's long-shot bid

Mark Sanford, 66, a former governor and congressman, ran as a fiscal conservative focused on the national debt. He repeatedly broke with Trump on government spending during his last stint in Congress, and Trump backed his primary opponent in 2018, leading to Sanford's ouster. A year later, Sanford briefly challenged Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. Sanford campaigned with a pair of pigs he called "Debt" and "Deficit" and drove around the state in a pickup on what he called the "Mama I Can't Afford A New Truck Tour," focused on the rising cost of everyday life.

Trump's decisive endorsement

Trump's endorsement of Graham came after a high-stakes meeting in the Oval Office. The president told senior staff he liked some candidates, hated others, but loved only one: Darline Graham. Many in South Carolina had assumed Trump would endorse Fry, a loyal ally whom the president had praised on Newsmax two days after Lindsey Graham's death, calling him "outstanding" and suggesting he might be a contender. The runoff will test Trump's influence over a Republican electorate in which nearly every candidate supports his agenda. The two finalists have 14 days to consolidate the supporters of the eliminated candidates.