Darline Graham has found that being a politician’s sister is a lot less demanding than trying to be a politician. The current South Carolina senator — who stepped in to finish her brother Lindsay Graham’s term after his sudden passing last month — is now running to retain the seat full time.
It’s not going well. During this week’s Republican primary debate against challenger Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Graham’s lack of experience was on full display, and the Trump endorsement she received in the aftermath of her brother’s death might not be able to save her candidacy.
During the debate, Graham was asked if Taiwan and the South China Sea were national security issues for the United States. The question is a layup for most politicians, even one still green around the gills. Graham first asked the moderators to restate the question, and then got a little too candid.
“I’m just going to be honest here,” she said. “I’m not that informed on national security. But I do support the military.”
“My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I will do everything I can to support the military. My dad was in the army. I’m not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise. But I do support the military,” she added.
While Graham was a staple in her brother’s life, the exchange laid bare how little the two siblings truly had in common.
On Wednesday night, Graham appeared on Fox News’ Hannity in an attempt to clean up the mess. “I tripped up on one question last night, regarding Taiwan,” she told Sean Hannity. “I’ve said many times, I’m not a politician — certainly not a career politician — I don’t speak politician.”
“I was just honest,” she added, claiming that voters she had since spoken to told her they appreciated her honesty. “I think people in South Carolina are more worried about making ends meet, they’re concerned about boys in girls sports, they’re concerned about the Second Amendment.”
As she spoke, a list of her policy positions scrolled through the screen, featuring cookie-cutter MAGA stances such as “opposes DEI” and “opposed amnesty.”
It’s not very convincing, and the GOP is getting a little hot under the collar.
“Lindsey Graham was well informed on the United States’ national security. Darline Graham admits she’s not. This is not something you inherit. And it’s critical in the U.S. Senate,” Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and MAGA exile, wrote on X in response to the debate.
One former Trump administration official told Politico that “[Darline] just doesn’t have the experience of executing, you have to be able to deliver a story about herself and right now her story is that she’s Lindsey Graham’s sister.”
Trump’s early endorsement of Graham has given her opponent, and her critics, plenty of fodder to label her as the “establishment” pick of the party. Norman told the Associated Press on Tuesday that Graham has sent a signal to “the Washington elite [that] they’re dictating the terms because it’s not South Carolina money. Mine is my money and South Carolina’s money, so they’re dictating the terms and giving her the political answers.”
But while the president may have thrown Graham an early bone, he doesn’t seem all that inclined to help drag her across the finish line. After all, he could barely be bothered to stay awake during her brother’s funeral.
