格雷厄姆得到了唐纳德·特朗普总统的支持，击败了坚定的保守派众议员拉尔夫·诺曼（Ralph Norman），他是强硬派自由核心小组的成员，在本月早些时候南卡罗来纳州特别参议院初选后，他也进入了决选。
格雷厄姆将在11月面对民主党候选人安妮·安德鲁斯。
格雷厄姆将她的局外人身份框定为一项资产，同时指出特朗普的支持是保守派应该支持她竞选完整任期的关键原因之一。特朗普不仅在社交媒体上支持她：他周五飞往默特尔海滩参加集会，这是他在2026年中期选举期间的第一次重大竞选活动之一。
“现在，批评家们说我不应该竞选参议员。他们说我不是政客。你知道我说什么吗？罪名成立，”格雷厄姆在集会欢呼时说道。“顺便说一下，特朗普总统以前从未在民选办公室任职，我认为他做得非常好。”
后来，特朗普热情洋溢地称赞格雷厄姆，说“她只知道如何把美国放在第一位。”
与此同时，诺曼说他的经历就是他的“简历”，棕榈之州的保守派可以信任他胜过像格雷厄姆这样相对不知名的人。
“当权者已经挑选了他们的候选人。同样的老剧本，同样的老内部人员。我不是他们的选择。他在一则竞选广告中说：“这次选举是非卖品。
他还质疑特朗普为什么参与共和党的竞选——偏向南卡罗来纳州，而不是专注于共和党面临与民主党人进行艰苦斗争的地方。当被问及诺曼对特朗普的一些评论时，白宫指出了特朗普此前在社交媒体上发表的支持格雷厄姆的帖子。
至于格雷厄姆，她面临着许多共和党同僚的审查，因为她缺乏政治经验，在竞选过程中偶尔会有失误。
在上周二与诺曼进行的一对一辩论中，她被问及台湾和南海是否是美国的国家安全问题。她回答，“我对国家安全没那么了解。但是我支持军队．．．我不是一个优雅的政治家。国家安全不是我的事情，不是我的专业领域，但我确实支持军队。”
这一评论与她哥哥对国家安全的主要关注形成了鲜明对比，引发了诺曼的盟友的批评，包括前州长妮基·黑利。
“林赛·格雷厄姆对美国的国家安全了如指掌。达林·格雷厄姆承认她不是。这不是你继承的东西。这在美国参议院至关重要，”哈利写于X上周。
诺曼在接受WHNS当地媒体采访时表示周四发布称格雷厄姆的回答“令人惊讶”，并抨击她缺乏经验：。“没有比国家安全更重要的问题了．．．没有时间进行在职培训，”他说。
但葛拉罕虽然承认她觉得自己答错了——告诉福克斯新闻频道她“在一个问题上犯了错误”——但她在上周的一次活动中告诉选民，“对我来说，当我在这个房间里走来走去并问人们，‘你们都关心台湾吗？’你知道他们说什么吗？不，他们担心的是食品价格、汽油价格和不断上涨的医疗费用。＂
她还说，她认为国家安全是重要的，她将会对此有更多的了解。“每个人都有工作的第一天。特朗普总统——他（第一次当选时）是政治家吗？他做得好吗？是的，他有，”她告诉与会者。
进入决选前，政治学家大卫·伍德尔德（David Woodard）告诉美国广播公司新闻（ABC News），他预计投票率相对较低，在这样一场不定期的选举中参加投票的人可能是最固执己见、最受欢迎的共和党人。伍德尔德也管理过林赛·格雷厄姆早期的国会竞选活动，但没有参与这次参议院竞选。
“我认为在第一轮，与我交谈的人都同情达林，认为她能完成林赛的任期很棒，”他说，并补充说，他们中的一些人“认为拉尔夫·诺曼在一些问题上有达林所缺乏的可信度。”
但进入周二，一些选民表示，他们发现特朗普对她的支持，以及她对经济的关注，是一个强大的卖点。
来自南卡罗来纳州尼塞斯的承包商迈克·方德伯克，他说经济是他的首要议题。
“我认为她可能会有一个陡峭的学习曲线，”他说。＂但我愿意假定她无罪。＂
Darline Graham wins GOP runoff to replace brother Lindsey Graham on South Carolina ballot： AP
Sen． Darline Graham -- a political newcomerappointed to the seatheld bythe late Sen． Lindsey Graham-- will win a special GOP primary runoff to replace her brother on the South Carolina ballot， the Associated Press projected Tuesday．
Graham， who was endorsed by President Donald Trump， defeated Rep． Ralph Norman， a staunch conservative and member of the hard line Freedom Caucus， who had also advanced to the runoff， following South Carolina＇s special Senate primary earlier this month．
Graham will face Democratic candidate Annie Andrews in November．
Graham framed her outsider status as an asset， while pointing to Trump＇s support as one of the key reasons conservatives should support her bid for a full term． Trump threw more than just a social media endorsement behind her： he flew to Myrtle Beach for a rally on Friday， in one of his first major campaign stops during the 2026 midterms．
＂Now， the critics say I shouldn＇t run for the Senate． They say I＇m not a politician． You know what I say？ Guilty as charged，＂ Graham said during the rally to cheers． ＂And by the way， President Trump had never served in an elected office before， and I think he＇s done a damn good job．＂
Trump， later on， effusively praised Graham， saying ＂she only knows how to put America first．＂
Norman， meanwhile， said that his experience is his ＂resume＂ and that conservatives in the Palmetto State could trust him more than a relative unknown like Graham．
＂The establishment has already picked their candidate． Same old playbook， same old insiders． I＇m not their choice． And this election is not for sale，＂ he said in a campaign ad．
He also questioned why Trump has gotten involved in the race in GOP-favoring South Carolina instead of focusing on ones where the GOP faces an uphill battle against Democrats． The White House， asked about some of Norman＇s comments about Trump， pointed to Trump＇s previous social media posts where he endorsed Graham．
Graham， on her end， faced scrutiny from many fellow Republicans over her lack of political experience and occasional missteps on the trail．
During a one-on-one debate she had with Norman last Tuesday， she was asked if Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for the United States． Sheanswered， ＂I＇m not that informed on national security． But I do support the military ．．． 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．＂
The comment， which contrasted with her brother＇s major focus on national security， sparked criticism from Norman＇s allies， including former Gov． Nikki Haley．
＂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，＂ Haleywrote on Xlast week．
Norman， in an interview with local outlet WHNSposted on Thursday， called Graham＇s answer ＂surprising＂ and hammered her for her lack of experience：． ＂There＇s no more important issue than national security ．．． there＇s no time for training on the job，＂ he said．
But Graham， while admitting she feels she got the answer wrong -- telling Fox News she ＂tripped up on one question＂ -- told voters at an event last week， ＂To me， as I＇ve walked around this room and I＇ve asked people， ＇Are y＇all concerned about Taiwan？＇ You know what they said？ No， they＇re concerned about the price of groceries， the price of gas， rising healthcare costs．＂
She also said she believes national security is important and she will become more informed about it． ＂Everybody has a first day on the job． President Trump -- was he a politician ［when he was first elected］？ Has he done a good job？ Yes， he has，＂ she told attendees．
Heading into the runoff， David Woodard， a political scientist who also managed some of Lindsey Graham＇s early congressional campaigns， but did not work on this Senate race， told ABC News that he expected relatively low turnout and that those showing up to vote in such an off-cycle election are likely among the most opinionated， plugged-in Republicans．
＂I think on the first round， people I was talking to had sympathy for Darline， thought it was great she＇d serve out Lindsey＇s term，＂ he said， adding that some of them ＂think that Ralph Norman has credibility on issues that Darline lacks．＂
But heading into Tuesday some voters said they find Trump＇s endorsement of her， as well as her focus on the economy， a strong selling point．
Mike Funderburk， a contractor from Neeses， South Carolina，who voted early for Graham， said the economy is his top issue．
＂I think she＇s probably going to have a steep learning curve，＂ he said． ＂But I＇m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt．＂
