MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — President Donald Trump returns to South Carolina Friday in hopes his in-person support turns out voters for Sen. Darline Graham in a GOP primary runoff to replace her late brother.
Trump's public backing could prove key for Graham, who has spent the past few days in a dead sprint to meet with voters before Tuesday's runoff election and move past a remark that has followed her on the campaign trail from Tuesday's debate in which she told moderators she was "not that informed on national security" after a question about Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Graham faces 5th District Congressman Ralph Norman, who is attending a separate town hall in Anderson as early voting wraps Friday.
Whoever wins will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.
"Darline Graham is doing very well. We'll see how it all works out," Trump told reporters as he departed Joint Base Andrews for Myrtle Beach. "I think she's a terrific woman."
Attendees lined up for hours outside of the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in near 90-degree heat that couldn't stifle their excitement to see Trump return to the key Republican stronghold in the state. Alongside supporters, pickleball players waited to file into the South Strand Recreation Center.
At times, chants broke out by those standing in line.
Trump isn't scheduled to speak until 7 p.m.
By almost 5 p.m., South Carolinians donning red MAGA (Make America Great Again) hats were already filling the convention center's bleachers and folding chairs and waiting in line for refreshments.
The venue seats 4,000, with plenty of standing room. Graham campaign officials said 10,000 people registered to attend.
Friday was the final day of in-person early voting.
The State Election Commission said more than 43,000 voters had already cast an early ballot, surpassing early voting in the Aug. 11 GOP primary.
Russell Lee was one of those early voters.
He backed 7th District Congressman Russell Fry in the GOP primary and voted for Graham in the runoff.
Lee said Fry's support of Graham, after placing third, swayed his vote.
He said Graham's foreign policy flub on the debate stage wasn't disqualifying.
"It's not something she's been involved with her whole life as far as foreign policy and staff," Lee said. "But, you know, we got a lot of people in Congress, in the Senate, that are probably a little dumber on things."
Gov. Henry McMaster named Graham in July to fill U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham's seat in the upper chamber after he died unexpectedly on July 11 at age 71 from an aortic tear.
At Trump's urging, Graham surprised many and announced she would run for a full term.
"I'm not going to lie, it's been a tough month. It really has," Graham told supporters in Florence on Wednesday. "I lost my precious brother that I love so much. I've taken on a new job as United States senator, and I have had this absolutely brutal campaign trail. And I am still standing. And if that doesn't tell you I'm strong, I don't know what will. So, I'm going to keep fighting."
McMaster declined to tell reporters who he backed in the primary.
On Friday, the governor, a longtime ally of Trump's, said he is backing Graham.
Since July, @DarlineGrahamSC has stepped up and immediately begun working to serve the people of South Carolina. Throughout her time in the U.S. Senate, she has stood for the values that South Carolinians live by, continued Lindsey Graham's work, and stood firmly with President…
— Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) August 21, 2026
Graham was the top vote-getter in a 10-person primary that included Fry and Mark Sanford, a former congressman and governor.
Graham largely swept the Midlands-area and Lowcountry counties, and Norman won over most of the Upstate.
Fry, whose Republican voter heavy 7th District includes Myrtle Beach, came in first in eight counties around the Pee Dee and Grand Strand, including in Florence and Horry counties where Graham came in second and Norman in a distance fourth.
Fry later endorsed Graham and spoke at Friday's rally.
"Campaigns are temporary, and the cause is much bigger than the campaign," Fry told the crowd.
Sanford, who came in fourth in the primary, said Friday he would back Norman.
Winning Fry's district could be what tips either Graham or Norman over the finish line.
The district's population has grown considerably in the past few years and is rich in active Republican Party voters, who in 2022 ousted their incumbent Rep. Tom Rice for former state lawmaker Fry after Rice voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
The special Senate GOP primary runoff will also be a test of Trump's support in the state.
In June, Trump's preferred candidate for South Carolina governor, Republican Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, was pushed into a runoff with Attorney General Alan Wilson. Trump then endorsed both candidates and Wilson ultimately won the primary.
Norman told reporters Wednesday Trump's endorsement still matters.
"Anybody would welcome his endorsement," said Norman, who also ran unsuccessfully this year for governor. "I called him ahead of time, and he didn't choose me. That's fine. As president, he's got that prerogative to pick who he wants."
Norman, who backed longtime friend former U.N. Ambassador and former Gov. Nikki Haley in her bid for president against Trump in 2024, has aligned himself as the true Trump-like conservative candidate in his bid challenging Graham.
On the campaign trail, Norman has called out Graham's lack of political experience.
"Everything is made up. It's fake," Norman, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told reporters of Graham on Wednesday. "I've had more electricity in this race than I've ever seen before."
Graham, who was a commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, has countered questions over her lack of experience in the political arena and challenged Norman's yearslong record.
"I'm not a politician, certainly not a career politician," Graham told Fox News's Sean Hannity on Wednesday after her Taiwan debate stage flub. "I don't speak politician. I was just honest, and I think that's kind of a foreign concept."
This story is developing. It will be updated.
