RED STATE REBELLION

Political Enemies Unite to Dunk on MAGA Nepo Senator

Two former opposing governors joined forces to endorse Annie Andrews against Senator Darlene Graham.

Trump-endorsed Sen. Darline Graham has been hit by another embarrassing snub in her home state ahead of the midterm elections.

Republican David Beasley and Democrat Jim Hodges, both former governors of South Carolina, have joined forces to support Graham’s opponent, Dr. Annie Andrews, in a new campaign video.

Beasley served as South Carolina governor from 1995 to 1999 but lost to Hodges, who was elected in 1999 and served until 2003.

In the ad, the pair acknowledged they still don’t agree on many things but do believe Andrews is the right choice for South Carolina and that electing Graham would lead to more political divisiveness.

“One thing we do agree on right now is this country is too divided, and the political rhetoric has gotten way, way out of hand,” Beasley says. “Annie understands that leadership isn’t about making people angrier. Well, it’s about making things better.”

“That is why we’re coming together today to support Annie Andrews,” Hodges added. “She’s willing to put people ahead of politics.”

“We may have served as your governor from different political parties, but we agree South Carolina deserves better than more of the same political fighting,” Beasley concluded in the former governors’ video.

Graham decided to run for the South Carolina Senate seat after it became vacant following the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsay Graham, in July.

She was endorsed by Trump but won the Republican primary by less than 5 percentage points against her opponent, Rep. Ralph Norman.

Since then, Graham has faced a string of embarrassments. She was found to have donated to anti-abortion Sen. Katrina Shealy despite claiming to be “100 percent pro-life,” stumbled during a debate question on national security, declaring that “national security is not my thing,” and accused former special counsel Jack Smith of “bullying” her late brother through subpoenas, to which Smith told her that her brother had refuted Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen and would likely have been one of the special counsel’s witnesses.

Beasley, a Republican for more than 34 years, also wrote an opinion piece in the Post and Courier, distancing himself from the Republican Party under Trump and saying it is “not the party” he knew or considers himself a member of.

Graham, 62, is facing a plethora of challenges leading up to the midterms, including another partisan snub by the son of GOP Rep. Ralph Norman and a bombshell documentary detailing claims that her brother Lindsey Graham paid at least two men and a 17-year-old boy for sex.

DANG IT, DARLENE

Trump’s Nepo Senator Hit With Brutal Snub in Own Party

Laura Esposito

Norman’s son, Warren Norman, wrote in the South Carolina outlet Fits News that it would be easier to hold Andrews to account than Graham.

“If Senator Graham wins, the establishment that backed her will protect her in every primary to come,” he wrote in his opinion piece. “This seat could be hers for 24 years or more. If Annie Andrews wins and doesn’t stand up to her party the way she has promised, South Carolina voters can hold her accountable and replace her with a strong conservative in six.”

Play Video

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Reagin von LeheBreaking News Intern

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.