Sen. Darline Graham Nordone won South Carolina’s Republican primary run-off election on Tuesday. She’s the current placeholder for Lindsey Graham’s seat, which he vacated after his death in July. Of course, death hasn’t stopped Mitch McConnell, but maybe Graham was ready to actually retire and not serve another few terms posthumously like so many other senators.
As you might have guessed, Darline Graham is Lindsey Graham’s younger sister, which is only a compelling qualification in a hereditary monarchy. (We all can agree that Princess Anne would’ve made a better replacement for Queen Elizabeth than her brother Charles.) However, Darline Graham — who has fully embraced nepotism by dropping her other surname — is an absolute dullard.
During last week’s GOP Senate debate, Graham was asked, “Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States, and, if so, why?” and she responded like Sarah Palin after a massive head injury.
“I’m just gonna to be honest here,” Graham said, apparently having not prepped for this debate beyond wearing “brainy” glasses. “I’m not on national security … I’m not that informed on national security … But I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years so I will do everything I can to support the military.” The only appropriate response to this was “Yikes.” (Watch below.)
Tim Scott, South Carolina’s now senior senator, insists that Graham is still perfectly qualified to serve in the Senate, which is technically true for a body that includes Ron Johnson, Tommy Tuberville, and whatever remains of John Fetterman’s mental faculties.
The Guardian described Darline Graham as “a frequent attendee at [Lindsey] Graham's political events,” which is the best you can say about her politically. I was a frequent attendee at Patti LuPone shows, but I am in no way qualified to replace her on stage.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster picked Darline Graham to serve in her late brother’s seat until January, when his current term ends, and although many liberals complained at the time, this sort of placeholder sympathy appointment is not unusual. In theory, the governor avoids picking a serious candidate for the seat who would then have the advantage of incumbency in the upcoming election. California Gov. Gavin Newsom made a similar pick when he replaced the late Dianne Feinstein.
Yet, Darline Graham somehow decided that she should serve a full term on her own. She’s never held any previous elected office and her primary political experience is exclusive to her brother’s campaign. She stood by his side when then-Vice President Joe Biden swore in Graham for another term in 2015. (Notice how robust the 72-year-old Biden was and how kind he is to Graham and his family. Graham would later openly betray his “friend.”)
Trump had endorsed Darline Graham for all the usual reasons related primarily to the service of his own ego. He hasn’t had a great record with successful endorsements this year, so he’s bound to thump his chest and take all the credit for Graham’s victory. His hubris is perhaps warranted in this instance, considering Graham is a pudding brain with limited charisma. Her brother wasn’t actually that popular in South Carolina and often fended off primary challenges to his right, so she couldn’t rely entirely on her family name.
Graham’s runoff opponent was Rep. Ralph Norman, who’s 73 and older than Lindsey Graham, who’s dead. It’s the Senate so Norman probably figured he could easily serve another couple decades.
Norman has held elected office for 20 years, serving in both the South Carolina and U.S. House of Representatives. His stated understanding of national security extends beyond merely “support the troops.” You could almost feel sorry for him if you had excessive free time to waste.
Norman is a shameless election denier, who also doesn’t believe in the January 6 Capitol attack.
“I was there,” Norman said in 2024. “It was not an insurrection at all. So, I deny that that was an event that a lot of questions have yet to be answered, that you will find out in time.” (Yeah, that’s the actual quote.)
So, if you think U.S. senators should uphold basic democratic principles and acknowledge the violent insurrections that occur right in front of them, then Norman is clearly unfit to serve. Obviously, that’s not why Trump snubbed him.
Some liberals online have suggested that Democratic Senate nominee Dr. Annie Andrews might have a better chance at defeating Darline Graham. Such rosy optimism requires the absence of a short-term memory: Andrews ran against Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022 and lost by 14 points. Mace’s racially gerrymandered district has the same partisan lean as South Carolina overall.
Journalist Karly Kingsley posted on social media that Darline Graham’s “biggest problem [is … ] that nobody has an idea what her knowledge, skills, or beliefs are beyond being her brother’s legacy.” Of course, that’s more than sufficient for Darline Graham to beat Jesus Christ as a Democrat in South Carolina. Graham has already cynically pegged what matters most to South Carolina Republicans. During a clean-up-on-aisle-Fox-News interview after her Taiwan debate gaffe, Graham insists that the “people in South Carolina are more worried about boys in girls’ sports.” The state has already banned trans kids from school sports, so these people are worried about the wrong thing, which is usually the case.
Graham defended her demonstrated idiocy with the MAGA-friendly assertion that she doesn’t speak “politician.” She’s now on a glide path to the Senate.
Per Hannah Arendt...
"𝗧𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 ... 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆."
She'll serve a term, probably, once she figures out how much the job sucks.