MAGA Nepo Senator Hit by Shock Poll Just Days Before Election
It’s likely not the timing she’d choose.
Finn Gomez/Getty Images
Lindsey Graham’s sister risks throwing away the late MAGA Senator’s Republican stronghold seat.
Nepo Senator Darline Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews are tied at 48 percent in South Carolina’s deep-red Senate race, according to a stunning new New York Times/Siena poll released Wednesday.
The state last elected a Democratic senator in 1998, when it backed Fritz Hollings, who had held the seat since 1966.
Asked who the 707 respondents would vote for if the election were held now, both candidates came out with 48 percent of the vote.
Annie Andrews has made big gains, according to the poll.
Sam Wolfe/REUTERS
This included 7 percent of people who identified as Republican who said they planned to swing to Andrews, as well as 8 percent of people who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Just two percent of Kamala Harris voters said they were backing Graham.
According to the new numbers, 57 percent of Independents said they planned to back Andrews compared to just 37 percent who said they planned to back Graham.
Questions have been raised about Graham's grip on the big issues.
Sam Wolfe/REUTERS
Graham took over from her brother following his sudden death in July from a rare cardiovascular disease, but has since raised eyebrows with her credentials and shaky media performances.
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The 62-year-old enjoys a higher profile than Andrews, whom almost a quarter of respondents said they’d never heard of.
Lindsey Graham became a leading figure in the MAGA movement, known for his hawkish stance on foreign policy and as a major advocate of projecting American strength through force and interventionism.
Graham had a reputation for his hawkish sensibilities.
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER/via REUTERS
He played a central role in securing equipment and munitions for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. He was also a leading advocate for starting a war with Iran.
It comes as the GOP faces a broader blue wave across the nation, as America prepares to pass judgment on a historically unpopular president. Trump has overseen soaring gas and grocery prices and started a new war in the Middle East that has no end in sight, has cost $47.1 billion, and has claimed the lives of 18 U.S. service members.
Trump has come out to campaign for Graham.
Umit Bektas/REUTERS
The GOP’s predicament has forced it to spend time and money trying to shore up voters in parts of the country it would usually be able to rely on.
Trump has also taken breaks from his presidential duties to tour the country in a bid to woo his base, including in South Carolina, amid fears that his absence from the ballot will lead to a drop in MAGA turnout.
Seventy-three percent of South Carolina respondents said they were at least somewhat likely to vote next week.
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