In a South Carolina that has leaned Republican for a generation, a pediatrician who never expected to seek federal office has been projected to take a Senate seat that had passed, through grief and appointment, to a sister of the late Lindsey Graham. The contest became a measure of how far a president's endorsement can carry a candidate when the ground beneath a state's politics is shifting, and when families' costs at the pump and in the clinic weigh on voters more heavily than loyalty to a name. Whatever one makes of the partisan readings now circulating, the result asks an old question in a
Annie Andrews Upsets Trump-Backed Graham in South Carolina's Ruby-Red Senate Race
First Democrat in nearly three decades to win a Senate election in South Carolina
Mark
A Democrat winning a Senate seat in South Carolina. Why is this the headline?
Mimi
Because Annie Andrews is the first Democrat in nearly three decades to win a Senate election there. In a state described as ruby-red, that's rare.
Mark
And Darline Graham had a lot going for her, didn't she?
Mimi
She had a familiar name as the late Lindsey Graham's sister, an appointment from Gov. McMaster, a runoff win over Rep. Ralph Norman, and two late visits from Trump.
Luke
Careful with the word "won." This is a Fox News Decision Desk projection, not a certified result. We don't have vote totals in this reporting, so we can't say how close it was.
Mark
Fair. What did the two campaigns actually argue about?
Mimi
Mostly money. Graham talked about gas prices, suspending the gas tax, and drilling and refinery regulations. Andrews talked about affordability and healthcare costs, and her 20 years as a pediatrician.
Mark
Does the result say Trump's endorsement failed?
Luke
That's the inference, and the source frames it that way, but one race can't carry a verdict on his endorsement power. We don't know why individual voters chose as they did.
Mimi
And the strategist's line about South Carolina bowing to no king is from a Democrat. It's her interpretation, not a finding.
Luke
Same with the claim that the race tightened because of outside money. The source says groups spent heavily, but it doesn't say how much or what effect it had.
Le Pouls
- A seat changed hands through death and appointment, and the race that followed was never a quiet succession.
- Late money from both parties flooded the state, and handicappers shifted their ratings as the margin narrowed.
- Trump flew in with rallies in the final weeks, yet his praise could not close the gap in time.
- Gas prices and healthcare bills dominated the closing argument, and the projected result suggests voters listened to the second more than the first.
In a South Carolina that has leaned Republican for a generation, a pediatrician who never expected to seek federal office has been projected to take a Senate seat that had passed, through grief and appointment, to a sister of the late Lindsey Graham. The contest became a measure of how far a president's endorsement can carry a candidate when the ground beneath a state's politics is shifting, and when families' costs at the pump and in the clinic weigh on voters more heavily than loyalty to a name. Whatever one makes of the partisan readings now circulating, the result asks an old question in a new form: whether a state's habits of allegiance still hold when ordinary worries press harder than inherited ones.
The Fox News Decision Desk has projected that Democrat Annie Andrews will win South Carolina's U.S. Senate race, defeating appointed Republican Sen. Darline Graham for a six-year term. Andrews, a pediatrician running as an outsider, would be the first Democrat in nearly three decades to win a Senate election in the state.
The seat opened when Sen. Lindsey Graham died in July, after he had already won renomination in June. Gov. Henry McMaster appointed his sister to finish the term. With Trump's backing, she then won a crowded special primary and a late August runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman, entering the general election with a name voters already knew.
The race tightened in its final weeks as some handicappers moved toward Democrats and outside groups spent heavily. Trump rallied with Graham in the Upstate in October, but his two late stops were not enough.
Graham campaigned on Trump's agenda, her brother's work, and cost of living, promising relief at the gas pump and fewer drilling regulations. Andrews built her case on affordability and healthcare costs, drawing on twenty years of working with children and families. A Democratic strategist called the result a rejection of Trump's hand-picked successor. That reading is partisan, but the outcome is a real test of his endorsement power in a deeply Republican state.
The Fox News Decision Desk has projected that Annie Andrews, a Democrat, won South Carolina's U.S. Senate race, defeating appointed Republican Sen. Darline Graham for a six-year term. Andrews is a pediatrician who ran as an outsider, and her win makes her the first Democrat in nearly three decades to take a Senate election in the state.
Graham is the younger sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, whose sudden death in July opened the seat. At the time he died, he had already won renomination in South Carolina's June primary. Gov. Henry McMaster appointed his sister to fill the remainder of his current term, which ends at the close of this year.
With Trump's urging and support, Graham then ran in a special Republican primary to succeed her brother. Ten candidates entered. She and Rep. Ralph Norman advanced from that crowded field, and two weeks later she beat him in a late August runoff. She entered the general election with a name South Carolina voters already knew well.
The contest tightened in its final weeks. Some of the top nonpartisan political handicappers moved the race toward the Democrats, and outside groups aligned with both parties poured money and resources into the state at the last minute. With less than two weeks left, President Donald Trump traveled to South Carolina to rally with Graham. At an Oct. 21 stop in the Upstate, he called her smart and incredible and said she would never let voters down. He made two late campaign stops in all, and they were not enough.
Graham ran on support for Trump's agenda, on continuing her brother's work in the Senate, and on the cost of living. In a recent interview on Fox News' "America Reports," she said she knew what it was to live paycheck to paycheck, and that South Carolinians were feeling it at the gas pump. She called suspending the gas tax a temporary fix she supported, and said she was glad Trump had eased rules on red-dyed diesel, which she said helps farmers. Her long-term answer was fewer regulations on drilling and oil refineries.
Andrews also centered her campaign on affordability and on healthcare costs, drawing on her work with children and families. In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, she said she never imagined running for federal office, let alone the Senate, but that she had 20 years inside what she called America's broken healthcare system and had seen Washington's failures in her hospital exam rooms. She said she brought that experience to the campaign trail.
Democratic strategist Mally Smith told Fox News Digital that South Carolina "bows to no king." She said Trump tried to hand-pick his successor in the state and voters emphatically rejected his choice, adding that Americans are tired of electing what she called MAGA puppets who enable Trump's erratic behavior and blatant corruption. That is a partisan reading of the result, offered by a Democrat.
The outcome is a test of Trump's endorsement power in a deeply Republican state. Watch how both parties read the results on cost of living and healthcare messaging as the broader midterm picture takes shape.
Citations marquantes
South Carolina bows to no king.— Mally Smith, Democratic strategist, to Fox News Digital
She's smart and incredible. She'll never let you down.— President Donald Trump, Oct. 21 rally
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