Republican lawmaker Ralph Norman to join race to succeed Lindsey Graham in South Carolina | South Carolina
Republican representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina has announced that he will enter the race to replace the late senator Lindsey Graham, despite Donald Trump’s support of Graham’s sister Darline if she chooses to run.
Norman announced that his offer will start on Saturday. wrote About
He pointedly added: “I spent years fighting for the Palmetto State in the state legislature, in Congress, and now I want the RELIEVE America Act to pass in the Senate!”
Norman further reinforces the restrictive voting bill that Trump has made a legislative priority and his efforts to eliminate fraud at the center of his campaign. she told Fox host Kayleigh McEnany On Saturday: “I’ll throw my hat in the ring… Day one, Kayleigh, I’ll focus on surpassing President Trump’s ‘America First’ pledge [agenda]. And it starts with the Save America Act. We will neutralize the bandits. And I will be a vocal voter and supporter to make it happen.”
But the announcement comes after Trump said Friday that he has asked Darline Graham to run for office in a special GOP primary on Aug. 11. If necessary, a second round of elections will be held on August 25. The winner of the GOP nomination will face Democrat Annie Andrews in the November midterm elections.
“Coming from an absolutely incredible family, Darline has been a WINNER her entire life and if she accepts, she will have my Total and Total Endorsement in the Special Election for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina – SHE WILL NEVER RACE YOU,” Trump said wrote at Truth Social. “RUN, DARLINE, RUN!”
Normandy he told CNN He had unsuccessfully sought Trump’s endorsement, but added that the president’s decision to back Graham did not deter him from entering the race.
“I wanted [Trump’s] the grace of running and getting his support. He decided to go with Darline, who is a good person, and decided to go with her. So I respect that,” Norman said. “But it doesn’t deter my plans. I’m in this to win.”
Florida senators Rick Scott and Utah senator Mike Lee endorsed Norman’s Senate candidacy before making his nomination official on Friday.
At Trump’s direction, Darline, 62, was nominated by South Carolina governor Henry McMaster and then sworn in Tuesday to fill his late brother’s Senate seat on an interim basis just three days after his death. This marked the first time a sibling replaced a senator who died in office and the first woman to represent South Carolina in the Senate.
Lindsey died at the age of 71 on the evening of July 11, following what her office called a “brief and sudden illness.” The chief medical examiner later ruled on Sunday as a preliminary verdict that he died of aortic dissection due to cardiovascular disease.
His sudden death sparked a race for Republicans to run for the seat they had held since 2003. With Trump’s support, Darline was quickly appointed to serve the remaining months of his Senate term, which ends Jan. 3.
Since then reportedly expressed He is interested in running for a full six-year Senate term but has yet to announce a formal campaign.
Candidates can formally file to run for the seat next week. Businessman Mark Lynch and attorney Duke Buckner, who unsuccessfully challenged Graham for the nomination in June, have also thrown their hats in the ring so far. GOP representative Nancy Mace is also potentially eyeing a bid.
Norman, 73, a leading member of the House liberty caucus, like Mace, unsuccessfully ran for governor of South Carolina earlier this year.
He is a lifelong resident of Rock Hill and, outside of politics, has a career in commercial real estate development. Norman was elected to represent South Carolina’s fifth congressional district in 2017 after previously serving 11 years in the state’s House of Representatives. He did not support Trump in the 2024 elections.
