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• Voters today will deliver a verdict on two key tests on the power of President Donald Trump’s endorsement within the Republican Party.
• The highest-profile race is in South Carolina, where Sen. Darline Graham is aiming to also replace her late brother on the November ballot. Trump has backed Graham against conservative Rep. Ralph Norman, but there are concerns about Graham’s readiness, especially after a debate where she said national security “is not my thing” and misstated South Carolina’s population by nearly a factor of ten.
• Trump has also endorsed former state Sen. Mike Mazzei in the GOP runoff for Oklahoma governor. Mazzei finished just behind Attorney Gen. Gentner Drummond in the first round. There’s also a Democratic runoff for Senate in the Sooner State.
The awkward debate moment that raised questions about Darline Graham
It was exactly a week ago when interim GOP Sen. Darline Graham declined to answer a question about Taiwan and the South China Sea during a debate, saying national security is “not my thing.”
The awkward moment came during a debate with Rep. Ralph Norman, her opponent in today’s special primary runoff for Senate in South Carolina. Graham, who has President Donald Trump’s support, is vying for a full term in the seat after the recent death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham.
A moderator, journalist Greta Van Susteren, asked Graham, “Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States? If so, why?”
Graham asked Van Susteren to repeat the question. She did, and Graham said she was “just going to be honest here.”
Graham has previously said she would be different from her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, in the seat by focusing more on domestic issues.
Read more details about the debate
Trump campaigned for Graham on Friday, describing her as a "very special person"
“South Carolina is Graham Country.”
So read the signs at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, where President Donald Trump rallied on Friday for the sister of his late friend, Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Today’s Republican runoff — between appointed Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman — will test the power of Trump’s endorsement after several of his candidates have come up short in recent primaries and ahead of a November midterm election where the GOP is banking on the base to help defend its congressional majorities.
President Donald Trump defended interim South Carolina GOP Sen. Darline Graham Friday, saying she was only being honest when she said earlier this week in a debate for a special primary runoff for Senate that "national security is not my thing."
With turnout on the line, Trump understood his assignment, touting Graham as a “very special person” whom he asked to run for her brother’s seat.
But he conceded that voters may not be as enthused about a midterm election, encouraging them to just “pretend” he’s on the ballot this year.
Despite a debate gaffe earlier this week in which Graham said national security is “not my thing” — a moment that’s caused even some of her supporters to cringe — Trump is all in on her candidacy.
“I watched that. I thought it was a very honest answer, actually,” he told reporters on his way to South Carolina.
CNN’s Patrick Svitek and Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.
Trump endorsement in Oklahoma faces scrutiny
President Donald Trump sees another test of his endorsement today in Oklahoma.
Trump is backing Mike Mazzei, a former state senator and businessman from Tulsa, over Attorney General Gentner Drummond in the race to replace outgoing Gov. Kevin Stitt.
The president’s endorsement has drawn scrutiny since it coincided with Mazzei announcing his support for an aluminum plant backed by the administration, which Drummond has also sought to block.
Trump hammered Drummond on the issue last week: “He wants to dethrone a magnificent, Job producing, desperately needed, and brand new, Aluminum Plant that will be one of the best projects ever conceived or built.”
Tens of thousands of dollars in consulting payments from Mazzei’s campaign to a firm run by longtime Trump ally Roger Stone over the last year have also fueled questions.
“I think it’s incredibly bizarre and absurd for anyone to think that Donald Trump, President Donald Trump, doesn’t make his own decisions about who he wants to endorse,” Mazzei told KOCO when pressed about the matter.
Whether the endorsement will be enough to convince voters is an open question, after they rejected Trump’s preference in gubernatorial primaries in Georgia, Iowa, and Minnesota earlier this year.
For many Graham voters, brother's legacy looms just as large as Trump’s endorsement
While President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Sen. Darline Graham has received plenty of attention since the passing of her brother, Lindsey Graham, several voters in Columbia told CNN they had a different politician in mind when they voted Tuesday.
“I loved her brother, and I loved what he stood for. And she’s going to be great,” Tracie Baxley told CNN shortly after she cast her vote for Darline Graham.
Baxley, a self-described strong supporter of the president, said it was important to her that Trump backs efforts to preserve the late lawmaker’s legacy in the Senate.
“Lindsey Graham has been part of South Carolina for so long and having [Trump’s] endorsement for his sister meant the world,” Baxley said.
“Lindsey had the best staff in the United States Senate. They’ll stay around her,” said one Republican who voted for Darline Graham, but declined to give his name due to his job with the state. “Anytime we needed anything, from a state standpoint, they always delivered. She will have that same staff. That’s the deciding factor.”
He added that the president’s endorsement of Graham was actually a negative for him, but it didn’t outweigh knowing Graham would be surrounded by her brother’s team.
“I just trust everything about that grade, that DNA,” explained Columbia resident Bill Buchanan after voting for Graham.
“Lindsey was wonderful,” he said, admitting that while he is a “Trump person,” supporting Lindsey Graham’s legacy was the bigger factor for him.
“I voted for Darline Graham. The DNA,” said Faye Bailey, with a big smile.
Democrat Annie Andrews awaits her general election matchup for South Carolina Senate seat
Democrat Annie Andrews is waiting to see who her GOP opponent in South Carolina’s Senate race in November will be. Republicans will vote for a new nominee today after longtime GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham died suddenly last month.
After Graham’s death, Andrews said that her mission to fight for affordability issues and health care remain the same, according to CNN affiliate WCSC. She said that while she and Graham disagreed on policy, she admired his decades of service to the state and that, in the end, “life is bigger than politics.”
She has also campaigned on investing in education and making childcare and groceries more affordable.
Regardless of who her rival turns out to be, Andrews will likely face an uphill battle in November. South Carolina voted for President Donald Trump by nearly 18 percentage points in 2024.
National Republicans vie to get Graham over the finish line in South Carolina
National Republicans have made a concerted effort to get Darline Graham over the finish line in the runoff for the Republican US Senate nomination in South Carolina.
Graham, the political neophyte sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham who was appointed to fill his seat after he died last month, has struggled in the race against Rep. Ralph Norman to replace her late brother. Uneven debate performances and her lack of experience have raised questions about her aptitude for the seat.
But President Donald Trump has his political capital on the line, having endorsed Graham – initially seen as a placeholder – over several prominent South Carolina Republicans who have been waiting a long time for an open Senate seat.
His super PAC, MAGA Inc., also made its first significant independent expenditure of 2026 on her race, spending $827,000 on get-out-the-vote efforts including texts and calls. That move raised eyebrows, as Republicans anxiously await details on how the group – with $400 million in cash on hand – plans to use its resources in a highly competitive midterms campaign, having so far abstained from any major interventions.
Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, led by South Carolina’s other GOP senator, Tim Scott, also endorsed Graham, and spent over $750,000 on a joint advertising buy with her campaign, according to AdImpact data.
On top of that, a collection of at least five other Republican super PACs have spent nearly $10 million on pro-Graham advertising, per AdImpact, touting Trump’s endorsement and attacking Norman.
Tuesday’s vote will test whether the combined weight of the GOP establishment is enough to sway voters.
Trump’s super PAC discloses $827,000 in spending to support Darline Graham
President Donald Trump’s super PAC disclosed spending more than $827,000 to support Sen. Darline Graham ahead of South Carolina’s Senate GOP primary runoff, according to filings submitted yesterday by MAGA Inc.
She faces a runoff today against Rep. Ralph Norman for the South Carolina seat left open by her late brother, Lindsey Graham, following his unexpected death in July.
Trump urged Graham to run for a full term following her temporary appointment, and he has since endorsed her and rallied with her.
Republicans have closely watched MAGA Inc. for clues as to when it will begin spending down its roughly $400 million war chest on midterm races. The group was expected to begin doling out money after Trump recently gave the green light to spend, CNN reported. But Trump officials have given little insight into how much it plans to spend and on what races.
