Darline Graham thanks 'the good Lord' after winning US Senate primary runoff
Sen. Darline Graham Nordone gave thanks to “the good Lord” and “everyone who prayed” for and voted for her in the special Republican primary runoff to replace her late brother, Lindsey Graham, on the general election ballot for U.S. Senate in November.
Unofficial results show Graham Nordone beating U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., by about 5 percentage points in Tuesday’s runoff election. Graham Nordone captured 32.7% in the first round of primary voting two weeks ago, finishing ahead of Norman and several other candidates. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote, as required by South Carolina law, Graham Nordone and Norman advanced to a runoff. Graham Nordone will face off against Democrat Annie Andrews in the general election for a full six-year term.
“South Carolina Republicans, I humbly accept your nomination to serve as the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate from the great state of South Carolina,” she said during a victory speech. “First, I want to thank the good Lord who got us through these past few weeks and gave me and my family the strength to keep going.”
The Senate race was shaken up when Graham, who had won the primary in his quest to serve a fifth term, died unexpectedly last month at age 71. Graham Nordone was appointed to finish her brother’s unexpired term at the suggestion of President Donald Trump, marking the latest example of a deceased lawmaker’s relative filling their family member’s seat after their death. Graham Nordone’s appointment made her the first female U.S. Senator in South Carolina’s history.
During her victory speech, Graham Nordone said she continues “to miss Lindsey every day” and has confidence that “he’s looking down right now very proud.”
Along with thanking Trump and the elected officials who supported her campaign, Graham Nordone gave a shout-out to “everyone who prayed for me and voted for me today.” She concluded her speech by proclaiming, “God bless South Carolina and God bless the greatest country in the history of the world, the United States of America.”
Graham Nordone, who has never held political office before, described her special relationship with her brother in a 2015 interview. The siblings' parents had both died when the late senator was in his early 20s, and Graham Nordone was a teenager, leading him to become his sister’s legal guardian.
“I can remember the day my father passed away, standing in the living room of that house, absolutely scared to death,” she recalled. “Lindsey wrapped his arms around me and promised me he would always be there for me and always take care of me.”
Decades later, Graham Nordone became one of her brother’s strongest supporters as he began his political career. She knocked on doors on her brother’s behalf when he first ran for the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1992.
In 2015, when Graham kicked off his ultimately unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for president, Graham Nordone introduced him at his campaign launch. Graham, who remained unmarried throughout his life, identified Graham Nordone as one of several women who would serve as a “rotating first lady” if he won the 2016 presidential election.
Graham Nordone is married with two children and one grandchild. Her career experience includes helping people with disabilities find jobs. Graham Nordone graduated from the College of Charleston in 1989 with a degree in sociology.
The senator’s campaign website provides additional details about her career experience, noting that she oversaw the South Carolina Commission for the Blind and has served as a member of the South Carolina State Workforce Development Board and its South Carolina Works Management Committee. The most recent item on Graham Nordone’s resume is president-elect of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind.
