Sen. Darline Graham announced Monday she will run for a full six-year U.S. Senate term in November after Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her last week to serve the remainder of her late brother Lindsey Graham’s term through January 2027, she said in an interview on Fox News.
“I can’t just let that die. I’ve got to step in and carry on his legacy,” Graham said during the interview with host Sean Hannity. Graham, South Carolina’s first female U.S. senator, said she felt an “inner peace” about succeeding her brother.
Graham said she plans to emphasize domestic issues rather than her brother’s focus on foreign policy. “Talk about also what matters to the average person. The price of groceries, the price of gas, health care. Insurance, those kind of things,” she told Hannity.
Lindsey Graham died July 11 at age 71. Officials later identified his cause of death as an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to a statement from authorities.
Graham has served since 2019 as a commissioner for the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, which oversees a $90 million budget and helps people who are blind or visually impaired find employment. “It was a passion of mine, but I have a servant’s heart,” she said.
She described her brother’s death as “tough” and called him “my rock.” Graham made the announcement in her first interview since he died, telling Hannity she felt she could carry on his work for South Carolina residents.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
