Democrat Annie Andrews ties Republican Darline Graham in South Carolina Senate race

Democrats bring outside money into a deep-red seat

Senate Majority PAC, the Democratic-aligned super PAC, is putting $750,000 into digital ads that back Annie Andrews against Republican Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina. According to plans the group shared with POLITICO, the first spot could run as early as Friday, 30 October, accusing Graham of letting costs rise while casting Andrews as a fighter against corruption. The buy lands five days before the November election and marks the group's first spending in the state. Public polling shows the race narrowing, and the Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund has pledged at least $5 million in the contest. Neither campaign had replied to requests for comment on the outside spending when the reports went out.

Senate Majority PAC digital ads0.75

Senate Leadership Fund (at least)5

Senate Majority PAC digital ads

0.75 US$ million

Senate Leadership Fund (at least)

5 US$ million

Data from the article text

A race that has tightened in its final days

A New York Times/Siena poll showed the two candidates level at 48% each, and on Thursday, 29 October, Fox News moved the contest from lean Republican to toss-up. South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1998, and Donald Trump carried the state by nearly 18 points in 2024. Lindsey Graham, who died in July, won reelection there by 10 percentage points in 2020. Darline Graham was appointed to the seat after her brother's death and entered the race at Trump's urging, without ever having held elected office. Trump has now rallied for her twice, first in a 90-minute speech in the week of 19 October that drew repeated protester interruptions, then again on Thursday, 29 October.

Graham's standing and the GOP divide

Republicans are divided over the Trump-backed candidate. Rep. Ralph Norman, who lives in Rock Hill and lost the nomination runoff to Graham, has said he will not campaign for her and called her a 'propped-up candidate'. Former Gov. Mark Sanford said on MSNOW on Thursday that Republicans resent her candidacy, and he explained the split this way:

“They don't want to vote Democratic, but at the same time they're concerned about competency and allegiance issues.”

Inexperience has become a central theme of the campaign. In the poll, 51% of voters said she lacked the right experience to be an effective senator, and in an August debate she admitted she was 'not that informed on national security' when asked about US policy on Taiwan. Graham has leaned heavily on Trump, saying she completely trusts him on tariffs and the war with Iran, while opposing abortion rights.

Annie Andrews (Democrat)48%

Darline Graham (Republican)48%

Annie Andrews (Democrat)

48 %

Darline Graham (Republican)

48 %

Data from the article text

Andrews's pitch and the independent vote

Andrews, a pediatrician from Charleston, has built her campaign around health care, backing a public option and cheaper prescription drugs. She has kept her distance from the party's left flank by opposing Medicare for All, conceding that Democrats failed on the border, and declining to name a national Democrat she would like to campaign with her. That approach appears to be working with independents, who back her over Graham 57% to 37%. After a town hall on Wednesday at an ice cream shop outside Spartanburg, she responded to Trump's visit by arguing that Graham serves the administration rather than any agenda of her own.

“She's unfortunately just using her access to him to prop up her campaign.”

Annie Andrews57%

Darline Graham37%

Annie Andrews

57 %

Darline Graham

37 %

Data from the article text

Trump's role and the final days

Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Lauren French said in a statement that Republicans know the race is tightening, and that the group would not send $5 million and the president to a state it considered safe. She also attacked Graham directly, in words that the group wants voters to hear before the election:

“Darline Graham is an empty suit who was handed a Senate seat and has no idea what to do with it.”

The group argues that a last-minute cash injection could decide a contest this tight, which is why it entered the race with its first spending in South Carolina. Five days remain before the election.