Democrat stuns South Carolina as Annie Andrews defeats Darline Graham for Senate

Democrats won a surprising victory in South Carolina Tuesday when Annie Andrews narrowly defeated Darline Graham, who sought to fill her late brother Lindsey Graham’s seat permanently, becoming the first Democrat elected to the US Senate in the deeply conservative state in decades.

Graham had been serving as interim senator since her brother Lindsey Graham died in July, but turned out not to be as strong a candidate as her party — or US President Donald Trump — had hoped.

The victory also made Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician, the first woman elected to represent South Carolina in the US Senate.

“You have shown the nation what is possible,” Andrews said to her supporters. “You have shown the nation that in this era of partisan divides, of vitriol and name-calling, in a politics dominated by billionaires and special interest groups and insiders in Washington, DC, that we will not bow down.”

Andrews won the Democratic nomination outright in June. She had initially built her campaign around challenging Lindsey Graham, before his sudden death forced her to pivot to a contest against his eventual Republican successor. Democrats had not won a US Senate seat in South Carolina in 28 years.

Andrews has backed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying Israelis and Palestinians both “deserve to live in peace,” and has criticized what she described as the humanitarian crisis in the region.

Graham told the crowd they should remain as proud of her brother as she is.

“This is a tough cycle, and all of us need to be involved as we chart a path forward. It is clear that we as conservatives have work to do, and that work starts tonight,” she said.

Graham was appointed by Republican Governor Henry McMaster in July to serve the remaining months of her brother’s term after his sudden death. A political newcomer, she had previously worked as an optician and in several South Carolina state agencies, including the Commission for the Blind and Department of Employment and Workforce, and holds a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling.

In an emotional concession speech, South Carolina Republican Darline Graham congratulated Democrat Annie Andrews on her U.S. Senate victory and reflected on the loss of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, earlier this year.

CBS News projects Andrews' win, who faced an uphill… pic.twitter.com/Ohr3jDq7P7

— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 4, 2026

Trump described the appointment at the time as a “fabulous tribute” to her late brother, a prominent foreign-policy hawk and close Trump ally.

Graham quickly secured Trump’s endorsement and went on to defeat Representative Ralph Norman in the Republican primary runoff. Her campaign focused largely on domestic conservative priorities; however, she did acknowledge during the primary that “national security is not my thing” and “I’m not that informed on national security.” The Republican Jewish Coalition also endorsed her shortly after she entered the race.

On Tuesday night, as it grew clear Republicans were in danger of losing their congressional majorities, also in Texas and Iowa, Trump wrote on social media, “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Lindsey Graham died suddenly on July 11 from an aortic dissection, at 71 years old, after serving 23 years in the Senate and eight in the US House. He was a longstanding member of the Senate’s Armed Services and Budget committees and had traveled to Israel about a dozen times since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

After their parents died at a young age, Graham was left to raise his sister, for whom he later became legal guardian. They were very close, and she was there as he filed reelection paperwork earlier this year, along with her children and grandchildren.