How Darline Graham turned a safe red seat into an alarm-bell emergency

Nepotism can get your foot in the door of the U.S. Senate, but as Senator Darline Graham of South Carolina is learning the hard way, it won’t keep that door open.

Over the weekend, the newbie senator took the stage against Democrat Annie Andrews and Libertarian Kasie Whitener for their first, and likely only, debate in the race for the U.S. Senate. Ultimately, the whole thing felt like a masterclass in watching a political inheritance evaporate in real time.

Andrews, a pediatrician and mother of three, landed quite a few punches during the hour-long conversation, repeatedly emphasizing how Graham, who was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor Henry McMaster mere days after her older brother, Lindsey Graham, dropped dead in July, has exactly zero qualifications for the job.

At one point, she alluded to that super embarrassing moment when Graham was asked about U.S.-Taiwan relations during a debate with primary opponent Rep. Ralph Norman in August and she replied, “National security is not my thing.”

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“If your surgeon said that appendectomies aren’t really his thing, would you still hand him a scalpel?” Andrews asked. “No. So why would we hand Darline Graham a full term in the US Senate? She is unserious and unqualified.”

Throughout the debate, Graham tried (and failed) to make “trans issues” happen. Bless her heart.

She brought it up twice, slapping it onto the tail end of her answers like an awkward afterthought right as the timer ran out, including during her closing remarks of the night. “But let’s talk about a couple of other concerns I have,” she squeezed out in her final breath of the evening, “that she’s deceiving the people of South Carolina with these transgender issues!”

Unfortunately for Graham, the moderator took one look at the clock and pulled the plug. Debate over.

Andrews has centered her platform on evidence-based, age-appropriate care for youth with parental consent, while clarifying that she doesn’t support gender-affirming surgeries for minors. She also supports marriage equality, civil rights, and human dignity for all LGBTQ+ people, and has dismissed political attacks on trans athletes as a wedge issue designed to divide voters.

During her appointment ceremony in July, Graham pledged to carry on her brother’s conservative, pro-Tr*mp, anti-LGBTQ+ legacy. “Lindsey has always been there for me,” she said, “and now I will be there for him.”

After initially promising to only finish out his term, she quickly backtracked and jumped into the race for a full term. Since then, she’s proven to be a pretty terrible fundraiser. Federal filings show she’s raised just under $350,000 for her campaign. (Andrews, on the other hand? She’s raked in over $10.8 million.)

Last week, Axios reported that the Senate Leadership Fund, the main Republican Super PAC, was sending $5 million to Graham’s campaign as “an insurance policy.” An unnamed GOP insider said, “We’re going to be there for Darline.”

D*n*ld Tr*mp has also been doing his part, naturally. Between firing off disgusting anti-trans slurs at Andrews on social media and crowning Graham a “High Quality person, maybe the Highest,” he’s now packing his diaper bag for South Carolina to grace her campaign with his presence.

Because nothing says “we’ve got this” like a full-blown emergency rescue operation in what should be a pretty easy election for Republicans to win.

While election watchers like the Cook Political Report still peg Graham as the favorite in this lean-red state, recent polls show the gap closing fast as election day draws closer.

Behind the scenes, even GOP insiders are scratching their heads. One veteran operative didn’t hold back when talking to CNN, pointing out a strategy that feels stuck in the past.

“The only thing she is talking about on Twitter is Annie Andrews and trans issues,” they said. “That train left the station in 2024. She wrapped herself in the Tr*mp flag and it is her only play, and in an environment like this, it could prove the exact wrong play.”

Even members of Graham’s campaign have begun expressing doubt, saying she doesn’t have the same charm or charisma as her older brother.

One anonymous source told CNN, “They are cut from the same cloth, but they have very big differences. Their personalities aren’t the same in that she’s very funny and affable, but she’s not a part-time stand-up comedian like Lindsey was.”

As for Andrews, she responded to Tr*mp’s anti-trans slur against her by saying, “If name-calling would help lower gas prices and grocery prices, he can call me all the names he wants.”

And she released an ad refuting false claims Graham has made about her on the campaign trail, including that she performed gender surgeries on minors.

“Darline Graham lying about me won’t do a thing to help you,” she said.

Turns out, when your entire political strategy relies on riding coat-tails and repeating last election’s talking points, reality catches up fast.

If salvaging a supposedly safe Republican seat takes an emergency $5 million assist from a Super PAC and a rescue tour from Mar-a-Lago, it’s probably safe to say Darline Graham’s campaign isn’t hanging by a thread.

It’s actively unraveling.

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