What to know about South Carolina’s election to replace Lindsey Graham

xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoSenator Lindsey Graham's death has triggered a special primary election in South Carolina [File: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo]By Joseph StepanskyPublished On 11 Aug 202611 Aug 2026Republicans in South Carolina will head to the polls on Tuesday to decide who will replace the late Senator Lindsey Graham in the race to represent the state in the United States Senate.

The vote comes less than five weeks after Graham’s unexpected death on July 11 from cardiovascular disease.

During his 23 years in the Senate, Graham developed a reputation as one of the most hawkish voices in Congress, advocating for military intervention in Iran, Iraq and elsewhere. A longtime ally of President Donald Trump, he had sailed to victory in South Carolina’s Republican primary race on June 9.

A crowded field, which includes his sister, Darline Graham, is now running to succeed Graham. The winner will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews in the November midterms.

Here’s what to know about Tuesday’s primary re-do:

Ten candidates are running to be the Republican candidate.

They include Darline Graham, who has been appointed to finish her brother’s current term in the Senate, which runs through January.

Businessman Mark Lynch, who finished second to Graham in the June primary, is also in the race.

Two current members of Congress, Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, are also competing, as is the former governor of the state, Mark Sanford.

Rounding out the field are lawyer Duke Buckner, biomedical engineer Samuel Shepherd, former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride, retired Air Force officer Glenda Gail Parker and farmer Danny Lee Ford II.

Polls are open from 7am to 7pm Eastern US time.

Graham’s death has upended what was expected to be a straightforward race.

Under South Carolina law, if a candidate is elected in a primary but then vacates the race, a special election must be held. Candidates are able to officially enter the race on the second Tuesday after the vacancy occurs, with the filing period open for one week.

Darline Graham was initially seen only as a placeholder for her older brother, but a recent poll has shown her taking a commanding lead in the race.

The Quantus Insights poll found Graham carrying 30.4 percent of the vote, putting her in first place. US Representative Ralph Norman was a distant second at 17.5 percent, with his fellow Congressman Russell Fry taking 16.6 percent.

Former Governor Mark Sanford was in fourth at 15.4 percent.

The US Constitution and South Carolina state law allow the governor to select Graham’s replacement to finish his term.

Outgoing Governor Henry McMaster, a Republican, announced Darline Graham as his pick on July 13, two days after her brother’s death.

She is the first woman to represent South Carolina in the Senate, and she is considered a continuity candidate in Tuesday’s special election, likely to carry forward her late brother’s political platform.

She and Lindsey Graham were said to be very close, as he helped raise her after their parents died. Prior to her appointment to the Senate, Darline Graham served as a former public administrator.

A Republican remains favoured to win the open Senate seat in the red-leaning state, but Graham’s death is generally seen as increasing the odds for Democrats.

President Trump’s surprise decision to endorse Darline Graham could prove impactful, though.

The nod likely gave her a bump among Republican voters, but the fact that she has no previous legislative experience could make her more vulnerable in the general election than more tested candidates.

On the Democratic side, Andrews, a paediatrician, has proven an adept fundraiser. She has seized on a measles outbreak in the state, beginning in October 2025, to criticise Republican leadership, as well as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent vaccine sceptic.

Andrews has maintained that voters in South Carolina are hungry for change.

“They’re looking for something different, and as a doctor and a mom and someone who represents a generational shift in leadership, that’s exactly what I’m offering,” she told the Charleston City Paper.