2 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
2 candidates · ballot order · Darline Graham currently holds this seat
High confidenceHigh confidenceBacked by government records or the candidate's own official statements, with agreement across several independent sources.What would raise it: Nothing missing — this is the strongest evidence tier.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Opposition to gun control measures.
Opposition to government-run health care.
Opposition to abortion access, which she has made a central contrast with her opponent.
Alignment with President Trump, who endorsed her in the special primary runoff.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
U.S. Senator from South Carolina since July 14 2026, by appointment; the first woman to hold the office from that state.
Won the August 25 2026 special Republican primary runoff with 52.5% over U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, after no candidate won a majority on August 11.
Endorsed by President Trump.
Worked as an optician and at South Carolina state agencies, including leading a 130-person agency serving blind residents.
Had never held or run for elected office before her appointment.
Said in an August 2026 debate, asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea were national security priorities, that she was 'not that informed on national security.'
Arguments in favor
She won a contested special primary and runoff against a nine-year member of Congress, with President Trump's endorsement, rather than simply inheriting the seat.
— President Donald Trump's endorsement, as reported by NBC News
She led a 130-person state agency serving blind South Carolinians, which she has offered as evidence of management experience despite never holding office.
— Sen. Darline Graham, defending her résumé in the August 2026 debate
Her opponent is 'dangerous' and 'radical,' supporting gun control, government-run health care and abortion until the moment of birth — 'bad idea after bad idea.'
— Sen. Darline Graham and her campaign
Arguments against
She had never held or run for elected office, and a Senate seat is not one meant for 'training on the job.'
— U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, her Republican runoff opponent
Asked at a debate whether Taiwan and the South China Sea were important national security priorities, she said she was 'not that informed on national security' — a gaffe that dominated the final week of the runoff.
— Reported by NBC News and The Hill from the August 2026 debate
She holds the seat only because she is the late senator's sister, and had to beat back sustained Republican attacks on nepotism to win the nomination.
— Republican attacks during the special primary, as reported by NBC News
What we couldn’t verify
Her positions on the economy, tariffs, health care and agriculture; almost all available material concerns her appointment, the nepotism question and her contrast with her opponent.
Whether she has addressed the national security remark since the debate.
Expanding access to affordable health care, Medicaid and Medicare.
Raising wages for South Carolina workers and cutting tax breaks for billionaires.
Restoring Roe v. Wade; she argues South Carolina's Heartbeat Law endangers women's lives and criminalises doctors.
Congressional term limits and banning corporate PAC money.
Using congressional oversight on tariffs that have raised grocery prices, and seeking an end to the conflict with Iran to lower fuel prices.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Pediatrician in Charleston for more than 15 years.
Democratic nominee for South Carolina's 1st congressional district in 2022; lost to Rep. Nancy Mace.
Won the June 2026 Democratic Senate primary with 61.5% over former Paine College administrator Brandon Brown.
Endorsed by EMILYs List.
Has publicly pressed the national Democratic Party to invest in South Carolina, arguing there is a path to victory.
Has not held elected office.
Arguments in favor
Fifteen years as a practising pediatrician gives her direct knowledge of what South Carolina's health system does to families, and health care is the centre of her platform.
— Dr. Annie Andrews for Senate campaign
She is running on prices people actually pay — gas, groceries and prescription drugs — and says her opponents resort to 'schoolyard attacks' because they have no answers on those.
— Dr. Annie Andrews, in an interview with WBTV
She argues there is a real path to victory in South Carolina and has pressed the national party to invest there, in a state Democrats have not won a Senate race in for over two decades.
— Dr. Annie Andrews, as reported by Semafor
Arguments against
She is 'dangerous' and 'radical' on abortion, guns and transgender issues, supporting gun control, government-run health care and 'abortion until the moment of birth' — 'bad idea after bad idea.'
— Sen. Darline Graham and her campaign
She is 'a radical lunatic,' and 'no amount of liberal dark money can cover up her extreme record.'
— Nick Puglia, National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman
She misrepresented her own abortion position in a televised debate during her 2022 congressional campaign.
— Rep. Nancy Mace, her 2022 opponent, in that campaign's debate
What we couldn’t verify
Her actual stated position on late-term abortion, as distinct from her opponents' characterisation of it; no direct statement from her setting out a gestational position was located, and the 2022 exchange with Nancy Mace was itself a dispute about what her position was.
Her positions on immigration and foreign policy beyond the Iran conflict.
Whether national Democratic committees have in fact invested in the race after her appeal.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
This contest had the most consequential post-primary change of the cycle. Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham won renomination in the June 9 2026 primary, defeating five challengers, and then died of cardiac arrest on July 11 2026. Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham's younger sister, Darline Graham, to serve the remainder of the term; she was sworn in on July 14, becoming the first woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate. Lindsey Graham had become her legal guardian after their parents died, when he was 22 and she was 13.
A special Republican primary was then held on August 11 2026 to choose a replacement nominee. No candidate won a majority, and Darline Graham defeated U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman in the August 25 runoff with 52.5%, with President Trump's endorsement. South Carolina also changed its rules to let Republicans already on the ballot for other offices run for the Senate seat.
On the Democratic side, pediatrician Annie Andrews won the primary with 61.5% over former Paine College administrator Brandon Brown.
Roster established from NBC News, NPR, PBS NewsHour, The Hill and the SC Daily Gazette, cross-checked. Note that the doc's briefing said South Carolina had already been researched by the live pipeline; the store listing showed only North Carolina and Virginia, so it was researched here. No minor-party or independent candidate could be confirmed for the November ballot.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A South Carolina ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at South Carolina Election Commission.