Darline Graham Enters GOP Primary to Succeed Deceased Brother in South Carolina Senate Special Election

When Darline Graham was appointed last month to fill the South Carolina Senate seat of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, she made history as the first sister to directly succeed a sibling in Congress.

Political dynasties are a familiar feature of American governance, with elected offices from local posts to the presidency often passing between relatives. Approximately 30 senators have served simultaneously alongside a sibling in Congress, while over 40 women — including four in South Carolina — have directly succeeded their late husbands in Congress.

However, sibling-to-sibling successions remain uncommon.

Graham, a disability rights advocate, shared a close bond with her brother, who never married or had children. Lindsey Graham was campaigning for a fifth Senate term when he passed away in July at age 71. On Tuesday, his sister faces Representative Ralph Norman, a veteran conservative lawmaker, in a special Republican primary runoff for the nomination.

Graham has no prior experience in elected office, and concerns about her political readiness have intensified following remarks during a recent televised debate in which she stated she was “not that informed on national security.”

Nevertheless, her name recognition and familial legacy provide a significant advantage, according to Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist at Dartmouth College.

“It gives you a shot you might not otherwise get,” Nyhan noted. “We often develop parasocial relationships with elected officials. We feel like we know them, and that sentiment can transfer to their relatives.”

In Texas’ solidly Republican 22nd Congressional District, Trever Nehls is the Republican nominee to replace his retiring twin brother, Representative Troy Nehls. Both Graham and Nehls have received endorsements from President Trump.

Direct brother-to-brother transitions in Congress have occurred several times. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican and former FBI agent, relocated from California to Pennsylvania and won the House seat left vacant by his retiring older brother, Michael, in 2016.

Florida Representative Mario Díaz-Balart changed districts in 2010, winning election in the more Republican-aligned district previously held by his brother Lincoln Díaz-Balart, who represented the area beginning in 1993.

Asa Hutchinson, the former Republican governor of Arkansas, launched his congressional career in 1997 after his older brother Tim stepped down from his House seat to pursue a successful Senate campaign.

Morris K. Udall won a special election in 1961 to fill the Arizona congressional seat vacated by his older brother Stewart, who was appointed interior secretary by President John F. Kennedy. A prominent liberal voice and former Democratic presidential candidate, Udall served until his retirement in 1991.

In 1946, Sam J. Ervin Jr., a Democrat, won a special election for the North Carolina congressional seat left open after his brother Joseph died by suicide. Ervin later became a senator and headed the Senate’s Watergate Committee, whose investigation contributed to President Richard M. Nixon’s resignation.

While siblings serving together in Congress were common during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, such occurrences became less frequent around the Civil War and even rarer in the past century, per James Feigenbaum, an economic historian at Boston University who has researched familial connections in Congress.

Senator Willard Saulsbury of Delaware sought re-election in 1871, but amid growing concerns about his erratic conduct, he faced challenges from not one but two of his brothers.

Eli Saulsbury, the victor, held the seat for the next 18 years.

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