Republican super PAC plans $5 million South Carolina Senate push

A leading Republican super PAC plans to spend $5 million in South Carolina’s Senate race, backing Sen. Darline Graham against Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews in a state President Donald Trump won by 18 points in 2024.

Sources familiar with the Senate Leadership Fund’s plan confirmed the spending to CBS News and NBC News on Tuesday. Axios first reported it. NBC described the group as aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and called the investment the latest sign of a competitive race.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham to the Senate after her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, died suddenly in July. The late senator, a Trump ally who had served since 2003, had won a primary for the seat weeks before his death, CBS News reported. He won his previous general election by 10 points in 2020.

Darline Graham became the Republican nominee after defeating Rep. Ralph Norman in an August primary runoff, NBC News reported. CBS News described her path to the November ballot as a subsequent special primary following her appointment.

Trump has campaigned for Darline Graham. On Monday, he used an anti-transgender slur to attack Andrews in a social media post. NBC News reported that he used the slur three times and noted that Andrews is not transgender.

Andrews responded late Monday without addressing Trump’s remarks directly. “If you care more about your bills than the politics in Washington, this campaign is for you,” she said. Former Republican South Carolina Gov. David Beasley called Trump’s comments “such a disgrace” in remarks to CBS News.

Republicans have also raised transgender issues in the race. NBC News reported that an outside GOP group, Security Is Strength, launched an attack ad against Andrews on Monday focused on those issues. Andrews has said she does not support gender transition surgery for minors. She previously opposed a bill to ban transgender athletes from sports, but told The New York Times last week that she does not “support biological men playing in women’s sports,” according to CBS News.

Andrews has dominated television advertising this fall. Her campaign spent $6.1 million on ads since the beginning of September, compared with $687,000 spent by outside Republican groups, according to figures from the ad-tracking firm AdImpact cited by NBC News. Graham’s campaign had not spent significant sums on ads since the August primary runoff, NBC reported.

Asked about the super PAC’s decision, Graham campaign spokesperson T.W. Arrighi said: “After over a month of non-stop misleading ads from Annie Andrews, funded by millions of out-of-state dollars, South Carolinians are beginning to learn the truth.” Andrews’ campaign did not immediately respond to NBC’s request for comment.

The South Carolina investment comes as the Senate Leadership Fund shifts spending elsewhere. NBC News reported that it canceled ads in North Carolina last week and launched a campaign in Kansas. The last Democrat elected to represent South Carolina in the Senate was Fritz Hollings, who served until 2005, NBC reported.