Graham faces scrutiny after national security debate answer

Sen. Darline Graham’s limited experience became the central flashpoint in a South Carolina Republican Senate runoff debate Tuesday after she acknowledged she was “not that informed on national security” when asked about Taiwan and the South China Sea.

The exchange came one week before Republican voters choose between Graham, a political newcomer appointed to the Senate after the sudden death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and Rep. Ralph Norman, who finished second behind her in the Aug. 11 primary. No candidate won a majority, triggering the Aug. 25 runoff. The winner will face Democrat Annie Andrews in the fall.

“I’m just going to be honest here,” Graham said when asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for the United States. “I’m not that informed on national security, so — but I do support the military.” NBC News reported that she also said, “National security is not my thing.”

Norman answered the same question by pointing to Taiwan’s role in chip production and said, “what the president is doing right is he’s enabling Taiwan to defend themselves against China.”

Graham later called China a national security threat and said she supported “any type of bans against China,” including on artificial intelligence and farmland. On Iran, she aligned herself with President Donald Trump, who has endorsed her. “I fully trust President Trump when it comes to the war in Iran,” she said, according to NBC News. “Iran is the weakest they have been in 47 years. The one thing that concerns me is we cannot let them get a nuclear weapon. So I trust President Trump and everything he’s doing.”

The answer drew swift criticism. “Lindsey Graham was well informed on the United States’ national security,” former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley wrote on X. “Darline Graham admits she’s not. This is not something you inherit. And it’s critical in the U.S. Senate.” Andrews also criticized the comment, writing, “Darline Graham Nordone is asking for six years as South Carolina’s senator — during wartime — yet has the gall to tell voters ‘national security isn’t my thing.’ South Carolina deserves better.”

Lindsey Graham was known for his focus on foreign policy and national security, including support for Ukraine and Israel and pressure on Iran. CBS News reported that he had returned from a trip to Ukraine to visit President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a day before his death on July 11. Darline Graham has said she wants to focus on issues affecting South Carolinians, telling CBS News last week that “affordability is a number one issue, definitely for me.”

The debate at the historic Newberry Opera House also featured sharp exchanges over experience, ambition, campaign finance and policy. Norman cast Graham as a candidate backed by Washington. “Washington is with her,” he said. “They’re not with me, nor do I want them. I’ve never been subservient to anything in Washington. Washington is broken.”

Graham responded by questioning Norman’s political ambitions after his unsuccessful campaign for governor. “I think you’re confused, because I don’t know if you want to be in South Carolina or Washington,” she said.

Despite the attacks, the candidates agreed on several conservative priorities. Both pledged loyalty to Trump, said Iran is a threat, recognized Israel as an ally, supported the SAVE America Act and backed a ban on birthright citizenship. NBC News reported that both also said Dr. Anthony Fauci should be jailed after invoking the Fifth Amendment before a Senate committee.

Graham also misstated South Carolina’s population during the debate, saying there were “50 million people in South Carolina”; the state has roughly 5.6 million people, NBC News reported.

In closing, Graham defended her short tenure in the Senate, citing work to pass a Russia sanctions bill, co-sponsoring the SAVE America Act and voting to confirm Attorney General Todd Blanche. Responding to Norman’s criticism that she canceled a second debate, she said, “I’d rather be out in South Carolina meeting the voters than here on this stage with you.”

“I’ve done more in 20 days than you have done in 20 years,” Graham said.