The sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) at age 71 has created an unexpected Senate vacancy but will not immediately change the balance of power in the upper chamber.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) will appoint an interim senator to fill the seat through the end of this year. Graham had been seeking a fifth term this year and was favored to win over Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician.
The real drama will come in a special Republican primary to replace Graham on the ballot. A special candidate filing period will open up on July 21 and will remain open for one week. The primary will take place on August 11, with a runoff on August 25 if no candidate reaches 50 percent of the primary vote.
According to The Washington Post, possible candidates include Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R), a McMaster ally who finished second in the GOP gubernatorial primary in June, and who may be appointed to the seat; businessman Mark Lynch, who challenged Graham in the June primary and took a respectable 29 percent of the vote to Graham’s 57 percent; and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who finished fifth in the GOP gubernatorial primary.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) wrote on X on Sunday morning that he will not seek the seat and will continue his bid for re-election to the House.
In an interview with NBC, President Donald Trump said, “I have somebody that I think would be great, but I don’t want to say it now because it’s just, you know, it’s too soon with Lindsey. I don’t want to even talk about anybody, but I do have somebody that I think is really good.”
In a statement, Andrews said, “From his small-town South Carolina roots to the halls of the U.S. Senate, he was a man of great faith, who proudly served our nation as a JAG Officer and Colonel in South Carolina’s Air National Guard. I hope that South Carolinians will join me in setting partisanship aside and offer gratitude to Senator Lindsey Graham for his service to the great state of South Carolina.”
Andrews has raised about $8 million for her campaign so far. As of Sunday morning, Kalshi bettors give the eventual Republican nominee an 82 percent chance of defeating Andrews.
Image: Shutterstock/Philip Yabut
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