Trump Campaigns for Darline Graham as South Carolina Race Tightens

Republicans are intensifying their efforts to protect a Senate seat in South Carolina as Sen. Darline Graham faces a surprisingly competitive challenge from Democrat Annie Andrews. President Donald Trump is scheduled to campaign for Graham in Clemson on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, as recent polling and internal party concerns have raised the stakes for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.

South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1998. However, the Cook Political Report downgraded the race from likely Republican to lean Republican on Tuesday, marking the second recent reduction in its assessment of the party's prospects, according to MS NOW.

An October survey by the Trafalgar Group showed Graham leading Andrews 49% to 46%. The same polling firm found Republican gubernatorial nominee Alan Wilson ahead of Democrat Jermaine Johnson by 16 percentage points, with 52.5% against 36.5%, suggesting that the Senate contest is considerably more competitive than the governor's race.

Republicans have responded by increasing financial and organizational support. According to AdImpact, Republican groups spent more than $22.5 million on the Senate contest after an August 18 debate, compared with $17.1 million spent by Democrats. Earlier in October, the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, committed another $5 million to the race.

A South Carolina Republican official told MS NOW that the party's difficulties stem partly from concerns about Graham's candidacy rather than the state's political alignment.

“There's no question that there's a drag at the top of the ticket,” a South Carolina GOP official told MS NOW, referring to Graham.

The official, who requested anonymity to discuss the race candidly, said Republicans had not consolidated their support behind Graham despite the approaching election.

“There are voters who are voting third party, there are the voters who are voting elsewhere, and there doesn't seem to be as much cohesion amongst the Republican electorate around her,” the official said.

The official also questioned the decision to devote substantial resources to a state Republicans have traditionally considered secure.

“It's political malpractice that we're even having to spend money in the state,” the GOP official said.

The official argued that those resources could instead support Republican candidates in more competitive states where control of Congress is at stake.

“South Carolina should not be a state where we have to spend money to shore up a Republican nominee,” the official said.

“That money is better used in other states, but we are here, and this is the cards that we have to play right now,” the official added.

Trump's visit reflects the party's effort to mobilize conservative voters in the state's Upstate region. Clemson is located in an area where Republican Rep. Ralph Norman performed strongly during the August primary, winning Pickens County by 16 percentage points and Anderson County by 15 percentage points.

There is precedent for Trump's involvement helping Graham. During the summer's special primary, she received 35% of the vote in Horry County, behind Republican Rep. Russell Fry's 42%. After Trump held a rally in the area and Fry endorsed her, Graham won 73% of the vote in the runoff.

A source in South Carolina Republican politics described the president's return to the state's northern region as a strategic move ahead of Election Day.

“It's going to help fire up the most conservative part of the state right before the election,” the source said.

“I think it'll help a lot,” the source added.

Graham's campaign has also been complicated by a disagreement with Trump over Russia policy. After the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, Darline Graham was appointed to the Senate and became the public face of legislation imposing sanctions on Russia and Iran. Congress passed the measure, and Trump signed it into law.

The legislation became a central part of Graham's argument that she could deliver results despite questions about her experience. However, Trump subsequently signed an executive order exempting Russia from the sanctions, weakening the impact of a measure she had promoted.

Graham acknowledged that the president retained discretion over the policy while expressing her own preference for maintaining pressure on Moscow.

“It's up to him whether or not he chooses to use it,” Graham said of the sanctions legislation.

She also explained her position on Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.

“Personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia … because I don't trust Putin, and I don't trust Russia,” Graham said.

Her difficulties began before the general election campaign reached its final stretch. During the August 18 debate, Graham said she was “not that informed on national security,” prompting criticism and forcing Republicans to defend her qualifications.

Trump has also attacked Andrews publicly. Earlier in October, he criticized the Democratic candidate on Truth Social, using an anti-transgender slur and arguing that she did not represent South Carolina's values.

Andrews told WYFF, a Greenville television station, that she had anticipated the president's intervention but intended to remain focused on her campaign.

“I think they want it to be a distraction for me, but it's not going to be a distraction,” Andrews said.

She also pointed to her campaign's fundraising and organizing efforts as reasons national Republican figures were becoming involved in the contest.

“I am a disciplined, hard-working candidate who is outhustling and out-fundraising my opponent. That's why national figures like the president are getting involved,” Andrews said.

Trump's Clemson rally on Wednesday is part of a broader Republican push to retain the Senate seat as polling indicates a closer contest than party leaders had expected. His support gives Graham access to a prominent national campaign surrogate, while the race continues to expose divisions over her candidacy and the administration's approach to Russia.