Annie Andrews won a stunning victory in South Carolina, shattering decades of Republican dominance to become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from the deeply conservative state in a generation.
On Tuesday, Andrews defeated U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, who has been serving as interim senator since her brother, Lindsey Graham, died earlier this year. The victory also made Andrews, a pediatrician, the first woman elected to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate.
Before facing Andrews, Graham bested better-known Republicans to win a hotly contested special primary. President Donald Trump, a close ally of her brother, endorsed and campaigned for her in the state.
But Andrews benefited from a national wave of discontent with Republicans generally and Trump specifically.
Lindsey Graham was seeking his fifth term, and Republicans felt confident they’d keep the seat before he died. But his sister’s status as a political novice, plus Andrews’ fundraising prowess, prompted GOP groups to pour money into South Carolina.
Andrews had already been campaigning for more than a year and had won her primary outright when Graham died, forcing her to rejigger a general election plan centered on ousting the incumbent. After his death, she refocused on the broader GOP field, saying she was ready to debate any of the hopefuls. After the Republican primary runoff, she homed in on Darline Graham.
When they met for their sole debate last month, Darline Graham and Andrews traded barbs over the economy, war with Iran and artificial intelligence. But much of the debate centered on each candidate’s argument that her opponent was unqualified for the seat. Andrews came up short in a 2022 challenge to Rep. Nancy Mace but has remained visible afterward. Before her Senate campaign, she had never held elected office or run statewide.
The Senate contest’s unique circumstances buoyed Democrats as they pursued an elusive statewide victory in South Carolina. A New York Times/Siena poll conducted in October appeared to show a close race and, coupled with criticism of Graham’s inexperience, gave Democrats reason to argue the contest had become more competitive this year.
But polls also showed an apparently close race in 2020, when Lindsey Graham, Democrat Jaime Harrison and outside groups supporting their campaigns spent hundreds of millions of dollars in South Carolina’s most expensive election. In that reelection, Lindsey Graham’s last, the Republican sailed back into office by a 10-percentage-point margin.
Voter Brent Chaplin said he had always supported GOP candidates but couldn’t cast his ballot for Graham, saying he backed Andrews and hoped her win would be a “wake-up” call for Republicans.
“You just can’t go and say, ‘I’m a Republican. I’m just going to vote Republican,’” Chaplin said after voting in Fort Mill. “You’ve got to put some brain power into it and think about it. So hopefully, it is a message to the powers that be to wake up, pick better candidates.”
Before Andrews’ victory, Fritz Hollings was the last Democrat elected to a Senate seat in South Carolina, winning his final term in 1998. Republicans have held both Senate seats since he left office in 2005. Only one Democrat — Jim Clyburn — currently represents the state in the U.S. House.