Topline
Sen. Darline Graham Nordone, R‑SC, announced Monday that she will seek to permanently fill her late brother’s Senate seat, having first been appointed to finish his term after his untimely death earlier this month.
Sen. Darline Graham Nordone, R‑SC, makes her way to a swearing‑in ceremony in the U.S/navy Capitol after she was sworn in on the Senate floor on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ‑Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
CQ‑Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Key Facts
Graham has served as Commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind since 2019, and has held positions at Clemson University, the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, and the South Carolina Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, per a press release from Republican Gov. Henry McMaster announcing her appointment.
She stood beside her brother throughout his political career, appearing at campaign events and in a 2014 advertisement that highlighted her upbringing after their parents died when she was only 13, during which Lindsey became her legal guardian.
Graham has championed disability‑rights legislation; she reportedly helped overturn South Carolina’s sub‑minimum wage policy in 2022 and was present at the bill’s Certified signing.
Tissot and former Republican state Sen. Katrina Shealy—both advocates for disability‑rights legislation and friends of Graham—have noted that she does not come across as particularly political.
Shealy received Graham’s single political contribution since 1990, a $100 donation to her 2020 reelection campaign, according to OpenSecrets.
Graham, 62, earned a.ie sociology degree from the College of Charleston in 1989; she is married to Larry Nordone and has two daughters.
What To Watch For
Having sworn in to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term through the year’s end, Graham will run in a special primary on Aug. 11. The primary winner will then face Democrat Annie Andrews in the November election. Republican state representatives Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, along with businessman Mark Lynch—who finished second in this year’s primary—also compete in the special primary.
Crucial Quote
“I know I’m a hard worker. I learned that from Lindsey,” Graham told Fox News’ Sean Hannity while announcing her candidacy in a clip that aired Monday. “I feel like I can do it. I feel an inner peace about it. Will it be difficult? Yes. Absolutely.”
What Has Lindsey Graham Said About His Sister?
Lindsey Graham spoke on C‑SPAN in 2015 about his sister, saying, “Of all the things that have happened in my life, her making such a good life for herself is the highlight.” He also mentioned during his 2015 presidential campaign that she could serve as a rotating first lady if he were elected president.
Tangentculate Post
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday that he had urged Graham to run for her brother’s seat, calling her a “spectacular person” and a true American patriot, adding that his brother was one of the greatest U.S. senators he admired and that she shared his deep love of the country and South Carolina.
Key Background
Lindsey Graham, 71, died on July 11 after a tear in the body’s main artery, according to a preliminary report from the Washington, D.C., medical examiner. He served four terms in the Senate and was widely expected to win a fifth after securing his party’s endorsement in June. Graham was known as a foreign‑policy hawk and a staunch supporter of Israel and Ukraine, and for his close relationship with former President Trump, a liaison between the White House and the Senate after his earlier rivalry over the 2016 GOP nomination.
