Darline Graham Nordone, the younger sister of the late senator Lindsey Graham, has officially announced she will run for a full six-year term to fill her brother’s shoes.
Graham, a South Carolina Republican and a close ally of President Donald Trump, died at the age of 71 on July 11. He died of an aortic tear due to cardiovascular disease shortly after returning from a trip to Ukraine.
In the wake of his death, a devastated Graham Nordone, whom the late senator raised after their parents died at a young age, agreed to serve as his replacement until next year, when the seat will be permanently filled.
Now, she tells Fox News that she will run in next month’s special primary election in hopes of continuing to serve the South Carolinians that her late brother represented for decades, telling Fox News, “I’m in.”
Graham Nordone’s announcement comes as Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina announced that she will not be running for Graham’s seat.
In a teaser from Graham Nordone’s interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity airing Monday night, the network host asked about Trump’s request that she run for a full term.
“It is a tremendous amount of pressure,” Graham Nordone told Hannity in a clip posted to X Monday afternoon. “I have been praying a lot, talking to my family. But with the love of my family, with the support of his staff…I feel like I can do it. I feel an inner peace about it. Will it be difficult? Yes. Absolutely.”
When Hannity asked if she has made a final decision about the race, Graham Nordone said, “I’m in.”
On Friday, Trump urged Graham Nordone to run in the August 11 special primary, calling her “a spectacular person, and a true American Patriot.”
He said that during a recent visit to the Oval Office, he asked the interim senator to run for a full term.
“I hope Darline does this, in that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey. Darline, who comes from an absolutely incredible family, has been a WINNER all of her life and, should she accept, has my Complete and Total Endorsement in the Special Election for U.S. Senate in South Carolina — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN. RUN, DARLINE, RUN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Graham Nordone was sworn into office Tuesday, a day after South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster announced at a press conference that he had appointed her to finish her late brother’s term.
“It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States,” Graham Nordone said at the time.
Mace wrote in an X post late Monday afternoon that she was not entering a bid for Graham’s seat because she has “unfinished business” in the House.
“I’m not running for the U.S. Senate, not because I’m backing down from a fight but because the one I’m already in matters right now,” the congresswoman said in a video attached to the post.
Mace’s decision comes after finishing fifth in the Republican primary for South Carolina governor last month.
