South Carolina: Darline Graham and Ralph Norman advance to runoff to determine the Republican Senate nominee

Darline Graham Nordone and Ralph Norman advanced to a runoff to determine the Republican nominee for the Senate in South Carolina. The acting senator and the congressman will face off head-to-head on August 25. The winner will face Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician with no experience in elected office, in November.

The South Carolina primaries took place on June 10, when Lindsey Graham easily secured the Republican nomination. However, due to his unexpected death, a special primary was scheduled for Tuesday, August 11.

With 90% of the votes counted, Graham Nordone received 33%, followed by Norman with 23%.

Trailing behind were Congressman Russell Fry (20%), former Governor Mark Sanford (15%), and businessman Mark Lynch (6%), who was Senator Graham's main rival in the June primary.

Graham Nordone has the backing of President Donald Trump and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. She was appointed in July by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to serve out the remainder of her brother's term, becoming the first woman to represent the state in the Senate.

As for Norman, he has represented South Carolina's 5th District in the House of Representatives since 2017 and has established himself as one of the most conservative figures in the state's Republican delegation. He even positioned himself as the most conservative candidate in the primaries. Norman has earned the endorsement of Senators Rick Scott (R-FL) and Mike Lee (R-UT), as well as Congresswoman Nancy Mace.

"This is a time to come together, folks. We've gotta all come together because we have got some socialist Democrats we have got to beat," Norman said after the results were announced.

“The Democratic Party is no longer the party of the ’60s, the ’70s, or even the ’80s. This is a party that is intent on taking over this country. This is a party that's intent on taking over having government take over everything. And, folks, iit's time for all of us to come together,” he added.

The winner of the runoff will emerge as the clear favorite to win the general election. South Carolina has not elected a Democratic senator since 1998, when Fritz Hollings defeated Bob Inglis.

Trump reacts to the South Carolina results

From Ohio, the president reacted to the results during a brief exchange with reporters: “She just called me to thank me for the endorsement, and it's great that she's doing so well. And she's a very good woman, and she's got good genetics because she's related to Lindsey. (...) So, we'll see. She's she's definitely in a runoff. And that's good.”