Washington — South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sudden death late Saturday has set off a scramble for who will succeed him in the Senate, with a field of GOP candidates aiming to replace him in the November Senate election swiftly shaping up.
The late senator’s sister — Darline Graham — will serve for the remainder of his Senate term, ending in January 2027, after South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster named her to the role earlier this week.
But the Republican candidate in South Carolina’s Senate election later this year will be determined by a special primary election. Republicans who will vie for Graham’s Senate seat have one week — from July 21 to July 28 — to file to run, and a primary is set to take place Aug. 11. If no candidate secures a majority of the vote, a runoff will be held on Aug. 25.
The winner will advance to the Nov. 3 general election, taking on Democrat Annie Andrews in the fight for a six-year term.
Graham, a giant in South Carolina politics who was seeking a fifth Senate term this year, died suddenly at the age of 71 Saturday. Preliminary findings from the District of Columbia’s medical examiner showed that the senator died of aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. He was among the Senate’s most influential members, and was known for his close relationships with President Trump and, before that, the late Sen. John McCain.
Here are the potential candidates to replace Graham:
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette
Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette was among the crowded field of candidates for South Carolina governor and advanced to a runoff election in the race. But she fell short, losing to Attorney General Alan Wilson, who secured the GOP nomination for governor. The lieutenant governor had won President Trump’s endorsement in the GOP primary, though the president went on to back both her and Wilson in the runoff.
Evette is the first woman to serve as lieutenant governor in South Carolina. Before she was elected to the role, Evette worked in the private sector, having founded the payroll management company Quality Business Solutions, Inc.
Evette has been inundated with calls and texts urging her to run for the now-open seat that was held by Graham, two GOP sources familiar with the discussions told CBS News. Asked whether she would consider a bid to replace Graham, Evette told CBS News on Monday that it was “disheartening” that the conversation had turned so quickly to politics after his passing. She added, “There’ll be a time for that.”
Rep. Russell Fry
Rep. Russell Fry is also being encouraged to run by South Carolina Republicans, two Republican sources told CBS News.
Fry, who was elected to the House in 2022, represents a solidly Republican district, giving the GOP a strong chance of retaining his seat in the House in the November midterm elections. He previously served in South Carolina’s General Assembly.
Mr. Trump called Fry “outstanding” and “somebody you could watch out for” when asked about possible Graham successors in a Monday interview with Newsmax, though he added that there are “probably some others.”
Rep. Nancy Mace
Rep. Nancy Mace, who fell short in her bid for the governor’s mansion earlier this year, has also been floated as a possible candidate. Mace told CBS News on Sunday that she would “be remiss” if she didn’t “at least consider” a bid for the open Senate seat.
Earlier Sunday, Mace posted on X a five-second clip from the movie “The Godfather Part III” that shows Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, declaring, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
Mace became the first Republican woman to represent South Carolina in Congress when she was elected in 2020. Since then, she’s made a name for herself as a GOP firebrand and was a leading figure in the fight for the Trump administration to release files from the federal investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Her third term in the House expires early next year, after she opted for a gubernatorial bid instead of seeking reelection. She finished fifth in the Republican primary.
Mace previously sought a Senate seat, launching a bid against Graham in 2014. She came in fifth in that GOP primary, too.
Rep. Ralph Norman
Rep. Ralph Norman told reporters Monday he is considering a run for the Senate seat. He said he asked Mr. Trump for his endorsement, but Mr. Trump told him “It’s too early.”
Like Mace and Evette, Norman was a candidate in the Republican primary for governor. He placed third in the race, behind Evette and Wilson, securing 17% of the vote. He was backed by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the gubernatorial race.
Norman supported Haley over Mr. Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.
Norman has represented South Carolina’s 5th Congressional District in the House since 2017 and is a member of the Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers. Before he was elected to Congress, Norman served in the South Carolina House and was a real estate developer.
Former Rep. Trey Gowdy
South Carolina GOP Sen. Tim Scott has talked up former Rep. Trey Gowdy, who served in the House from 2011 to 2019 and is best-known for chairing a committee that investigated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s response to the U.S. embassy attack in Benghazi, Libya.
“I have affinity for Trey Gowdy … and think he’d be an amazing senator for the state of South Carolina,” Scott said when asked by CBS News about potential Senate candidates.
Gowdy, who currently hosts a Fox News show, has not said publicly that he is interested in seeking elected office again.
Sen. Darline Graham
Darline Graham has not said whether she is interested in running for a full Senate term, but Scott hasn’t ruled out the idea, telling CBS News she’s “off to a remarkable start” and: “Why not her?”
Shortly after she was appointed, she said: “It is such a privilege to get to finish some of [Lindsey Graham’s] important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States.”
Gov. Henry McMaster
Gov. Henry McMaster could also launch a bid for Graham’s Senate seat, should a so-called caretaker be appointed to fill the remainder of Graham’s term.
McMaster has been in the governor’s mansion since 2017, when he was appointed to finish out Haley’s term after she was confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during Mr. Trump’s first administration. McMaster was elected to a full term as governor in 2018, and then won reelection in 2022.
McMaster’s term as governor is up in January. He has deep ties to South Carolina politics, having served as chairman of the state Republican Party for nearly a decade. McMaster was elected South Carolina’s attorney general in 2002, and then lieutenant governor in 2014.
Nikki Haley
A spokesperson for Haley told CBS News she is not planning to run for Graham’s Senate seat. Haley has been flooded with calls from people urging her to run, and multiple sources say there’s significant interest in seeing the former governor enter the race, but it’s not something she is “entertaining.”
Haley served as South Carolina governor for one and a half terms, before Mr. Trump named her ambassador to the United Nations at the start of his first term. Haley ran afoul of Mr. Trump during the 2024 GOP presidential primary, but she later endorsed the president.
“Nikki and Michael were shocked and saddened by the passing of Senator Graham. They will continue to lift his family up in prayer,” the spokesperson said. “While she has been blessed to serve her state and country as Governor, UN Ambassador, and as a candidate for President, she has no plans to run for office at this time.”
Major Garrett and
contributed to this report.
More from CBS News
Go deeper with The Free Press
