Senator Darline Graham Nordone is banking on the endorsement of former President Donald Trump as she faces off against Representative Ralph Norman in a pivotal political contest.
Until recently, Sen. Nordone was relatively unknown in political circles. For the past 20 years, she has been known as Mrs. Nordone, though she has adopted the title of Sen. Graham following the passing of her brother, Lindsey Graham, 45 days ago.
The support from Trump, who urged South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to appoint her as a tribute to the late Lindsey Graham, propelled this newcomer into the upper echelons of politics, filling her brother’s Senate seat for the rest of his term.
Shortly after her appointment, she announced her intention to pursue a complete six-year Senate term.
However, Trump’s backing did not deter ambitious South Carolina politicians. Entrants in the race include Ralph Norman, Representative Russell Fry, and former governor and representative Mark Sanford, among others.
Norman received only about a quarter of the primary vote, but that was good enough to make the runoff.
But it was Nordone’s total, only about a third of votes cast despite her incumbency and Trump’s endorsement, that raised the most red flags.
Little public polling has informed on the state of the race. Trafalger, a respected polling firm which has close ties to Trump, published a poll Monday night which showed the race virtually tied. However, multiple reports have suggested internal polling from both camps has Norman ahead by double digits.
Trump has done what he can to boost Nordone, visiting the state for one of his trademark rallies and holding a tele-rally Monday night.
But Nordone has done little to help herself.
In the only televised debate of the runoff, she said she “is not that informed on national security.” And despite her claims to be further to the right than her brother on the critical issue of immigration, she has spurned opportunities to offer specifics, even telling reporters she has no thoughts on DACA. Additionally, she was not immediately able to comment on her birthright citizenship stance in response to a reporter question.
In the House, Norman’s vote was always there when Trump needed him, although he sometimes needed pulled back to the center to support compromises Trump’s legislative team had engineered.
But his 2024 endorsement of Nikki Haley, one made based more on longtime political friendship than on ideology, likely ensured Trump’s runoff support of Nordone.
With such a tight timeline and under such unusual circumstances, turnout is difficult to project. Either candidate could win, perhaps even decisively.
Runoffs in Oklahoma are taking place as well, with the gubernatorial GOP runoff between Trump-endorse Mike Mazzei and Attorney General Gentner Drummond drawing headlines.
But most eyes are on South Carolina, where polls close at 7 p.m. ET. Polls close in Oklahoma at 8 p.m. ET.
UPDATE 9:53 p.m. ET:
In her victory speech, Nordone offers up some Republican boomer red meat about the evils of socialism, insisting South Carolinians must reject democratic socialists – basically the same messaging most generic establishment Republicans in the Senate parrot.
She will likely be a reliable vote for Trump, but keep in mind he is only in office for two more years. Republicans are almost universally expected by political prognosticators to lose the House, if not also the Senate. So what few meaningful votes the Senate takes next year will be on a handful of spending bills.
How she will vote in the remaining two-thirds of her term is anyone’s guess, but the way that Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) have rallied behind her, she likely won’t be a conservative favorite. Regardless, she’ll have a chance to chart her own path.
UPDATE 9:48 p.m. ET:
Mazzei has pulled ahead in Oklahoma. He is up a percentage point with 82 percent of the vote in. This would be Trump’s second high profile victory of the night if it holds.
It’s worth noting that Trump’s endorsement of Mazzei caught many Oklahomans off guard. The primary was crowded and Mazzei was not seen as one of the leading contenders by many in the state.
UPDATE 9:13 p.m. ET:
In Oklahoma, with exactly 50 percent of the vote in, Drummond is at 50 percent to Mazzei’s 50 percent. As close as it gets!
UPDATE 8:58 p.m. ET:
Sen. Darline Graham Nordone has won the Republican nomination for Senate in South Carolina, NBC News projects.
With 81 percent in, her lead is 54 percent to Rep. Ralph Norman’s 46 percent.
The victory is shared with Trump, who endorsed Nordone soon after the death of her brother Lindsey Graham. As – News reported, significant funding in the two-week runoff was spent on her behalf as well, over $5 million in independent expenditures.
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She will be heavily favored in November against Democrat nominee Annie Andrews.
UPDATE 8:51 p.m. ET:
Further west in Oklahoma, AG Gentner Drummond is leading Trump-endorsed Mike Mazzei with 24 percent of the vote in. Drummond is at 51.5 percent to Mazzei’s 48.5. Its still early-ish but results will begin coming in quickly soon.
UPDATE 8:45 p.m. ET:
With 75 percent of the vote in, Nordone has extended her vote to 6 points. A call might be coming soon.
Norman has done well in his home district where voters best know him, but outside his region, voters appear to have gone with Trump.
UPDATE 8:27 p.m. ET:
Right on cue, a big batch from Greenville County arrived, most of it early votes. The breakdown remains about 68 percent there for Norman, but the new votes cut Nordone’s lead statewide to under 6,000 votes, 51 percent to 49. This ain’t over yet.
Statewide, 62 percent of votes are in.
UPDATE 8:24 p.m. ET:
Only 12 percent of the vote in Greenville, Norman’s home county, is in. While Norman is up big there, he will need an overwhelming showing the rest of the way there to square the race. Not impossible but tough.
UPDATE 8:12 p.m. ET:
Nordone’s lead has remained steady for a spell at around 8 points. Over a third of the vote is now in.
Interestingly, Turning Point’s Tyler Bowyer points out that South Carolina’s open primary system allows Republican candidates to target Democrat voters who did not vote in their primary. In a special election like this, where Democrats had already nominated their candidate in the previous non-special, that essentially means any voter in the state could vote in today’s special GOP primary.
For a candidate like Graham who was aided by many big spenders, many who likely opposed the conservative Norman in the Senate, that could pay dividends.
UPDATE 7:59 p.m. ET:
It’s worth noting how heavily Nordone is relying on Trump’s endorsement. If she wins tonight, the victory will be his. Despite entering politics for the first time 45 days ago, she took great pains to withhold sharing her views or convictions on critical issues and spurned media, including multiple requests from – News. Norman joined – News Saturday on SiriusXM for an extended 20-minute interview during the runoff.
Nordone’s national security gaffe might explain her silence, and keeping mum on immigration may have been necessary for someone who, for all we know, spent no time contemplating the issue before 45 days ago.
Embarrassingly, Nordone’s staffer was caught telling a reporter granted a rare interview “nothing too difficult here.”
UPDATE 7:52 p.m. ET:
Norman is trying to run up the score upstate in his home region and is doing well, but Nordone is doing well in most of the rest of the county, extending beyond her low country base of Charleston.
Fry’s Dee Dee region in the northeast is going for Nordone. After finishing third in the primary, Fry endorsed Nordone after Trump’s request.
But the race has tightened. Nordone’s lead is 53 percent to Norman’s 47 with 22 percent of the vote in.
UPDATE 7:30 p.m. ET:
Only about 9 percent of the projected vote is in, but Nordone is up 57 percent to Norman’s 43. Most of what we are seeing reported right now are early votes cast before Election Day.
There’s a long way to go, but Nordone is likely pleased with the trend so far.
Bradley Jaye is Political Editor for – News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye or email him at bjaye@breitbart.com.
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