McMaster names Graham’s sister to fill Senate seat

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone on Monday to temporarily fill the Senate seat left vacant by the sudden death of her brother, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, setting up a short-term succession and a fast-moving Republican primary for the full term.

Graham died Saturday at age 71. Preliminary findings from the District of Columbia medical examiner showed he died of aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, CBS News reported. His Senate term runs through Jan. 3, 2027, but he was also seeking a fifth term and had won more than 56% of the vote in South Carolina’s Republican Senate primary in early June.

Nordone’s appointment will last only a few months. A special Republican primary is scheduled for Aug. 11 for candidates seeking the party’s nomination for the six-year term beginning next year. Republicans will have one week, from July 21 to July 28, to file. If no candidate wins a majority, a runoff will be held Aug. 25. The winner will face Democrat Annie Andrews in the Nov. 3 general election.

“Lindsey has always been there for me and now I will be there for him,” Nordone said at a Monday news conference, according to NPR. “It is such a privilege to finish some of his important work.”

It was not immediately clear whether Nordone plans to run for a full term. President Trump had urged her appointment in a social media post, writing, “This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!” Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina also supported the choice and appeared with Nordone as McMaster announced the appointment.

The Graham siblings had a close relationship shaped by the deaths of their parents just over a year apart. Lindsey Graham was in college and Darline was 13 when he became her guardian. He later adopted her so she could receive benefits from his service as a lawyer in the Air Force.

“I can remember the day my father passed away standing in the living room of that house absolutely scared to death,” Nordone told NPR in 2015. “Lindsey wrapped his arms around me and promised me he would always be there for me and always take care of me.”

The race to succeed Graham for the full term is already drawing attention from prominent South Carolina Republicans. Rep. Nancy Mace told CBS News she would “be remiss” if she did not “at least consider” running. Earlier Sunday, she posted a clip from “The Godfather Part III” in which Michael Corleone says, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”

Mace became the first Republican woman to represent South Carolina in Congress when she was elected in 2020. She ran for governor this year instead of seeking reelection to the House and finished fifth in the Republican primary. She also challenged Graham in the 2014 Republican Senate primary, where she finished fifth.

Other possible contenders include Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Rep. Ralph Norman and Rep. Russell Fry. Evette, the first woman to serve as South Carolina lieutenant governor, recently lost the Republican runoff for governor to Attorney General Alan Wilson after receiving Trump’s endorsement in the primary. Asked by CBS News whether she would consider a Senate bid, Evette said it was “disheartenting” that the conversation had turned so quickly to politics after Graham’s death, adding, “There’ll be a time for that.”

Norman, a Freedom Caucus member who has represented South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District since 2017, finished third in the governor’s race with 17% of the vote and had been backed by former Gov. Nikki Haley. Fry, elected to the House in 2022, is also being encouraged to run by South Carolina Republicans, CBS News reported.

McMaster himself could also run if a caretaker holds the seat temporarily. He has served as governor since 2017 and previously was South Carolina’s attorney general, lieutenant governor and state Republican Party chairman.