The sister of late Sen. Lindsey Graham said she will seek a full term representing South Carolina in the Senate after the death of her brother.
Graham, who has never held elected office before being appointed to replace her brother for the remainder of his term, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that she does intend to run in the special primary election on August 11.
Her decision to jump in the increasingly crowded race comes after President Donald Trump urged her to run for a full six-year term. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he would not be endorsing in the primary.
The filing deadline to run in the special election is Tuesday, and multiple GOP candidates have already thrown their hat in the ring despite Trump publicly urging Graham to run.
It sets off a sprint to prove to South Carolina Republican voters who is the right MAGA candidate to replace the late senator, who passed away just over a week ago at the age of 71.
The new Sen. Graham had barely served a week in office since her brother’s death before making her intentions known. The late senator’s memorial service does not even take place until next week, but the deadline will have already passed to run.
“Have you even made a final decision?” Hannity asked her in a clip shared of their one-on-one interview.
“I’ve made a decision,” Sen. Graham said.
“You’re in?” he asked.
“I’m in,” she confirmed.
It comes after Trump posted on Truth Social last Friday urging her to run. He called her a “WINNER” and a spectacular person and said if she decided to get in the race, she would have his endorsement.
Despite being close to her brother and being featured in his campaign videos and introducing him when he ran for president in the 2016 election, little is known of Graham’s personal politics.
She has never held elected office and has kept a low profile with no political donations or political posts on social media. Her speeches for her brother focused largely on him as a person who helped raise her after their parents died rather than focusing on policy.
But Graham will have to prove her MAGA credentials for the GOP nomination quickly, as other Republicans have ignored Trump’s endorsement and jumped into the race.
Conservative South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman announced over the weekend that he would seek the Senate nomination after a failed bid for governor. He said he would not drop out even if Graham decided to run.
GOP Rep. Russell Fry announced on Monday that he would also run in the special election despite also running for reelection in the House and securing the nomination in an uncontested primary last month. If he were to be nominated to run for the Senate, it would leave his House seat vacant in the midterms.
However, he vowed to be “President Trump’s favorite U.S. Senator” and a “MAGA fighter” if nominated in a post on X.
Asked about the race on Monday, Thune called Graham a “strong candidate” and a “very accomplished person in her own right,” but he told reporters on Capitol Hill that he would not be endorsing in the primary.
“Sounds like the field is taking shape, and we’ll let the voters in South Carolina decide it,” Thune said.
Whoever wins the Republican primary special election on August 11 will face Democratic Senate nominee Dr. Annie Andrew for the seat in a red state.
In her interview with Hannity, Graham acknowledged that while the filing window to run begins on Tuesday, it runs through July 28. The memorial services for her brother in Washington, D.C. and in South Carolina are July 28 and July 29.
When asked what has been going through her head, Graham told Hannity, “I’ve been praying a lot, talking to my family, but with the love of my family, with the support of his staff, I know I’m a hard worker.”
“I’ve worked for almost 30 years for the people of this state,” she added.
Despite having never run for public office, Graham previously worked for the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department before working for the South Carolina Commission for the Blind.
She was also a commissioner on the State Workforce Development Board and on the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB).
