Trump endorses Darline Graham Nordone for South Carolina Senate seat

Trump the president asked the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham to run in the Republican special primary set for August 11, 2026, and pledged his full backing.

First Published: July 17, 2026, 11:28 AM ET

WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald Trump asked Darline Graham Nordone to run for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina.

Trump made the request during an Oval Office visit and offered his full endorsement, he said in a Truth Social post on July 17, 2026 at 3:15 PM ET. He described Nordone as the sister of the late Lindsey Graham, the longtime South Carolina Republican senator. The president said the two have known each other for a long time.

Here is the full post on truthsocial: “It was my Honor to welcome now Senator Darline Graham Nordone (The sister of the Late, Great Lindsey Graham!), from the Wonderful State of South Carolina, into the Oval Office. We have known each other for a long time — She is a spectacular person, and a true American Patriot. Lindsey was one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, and his sister shares his deep love of our Country, and the State of South Carolina. During her visit, I asked Darline, for the Good of our Nation, to run for the U.S. Senate in the Special Republican Primary on Tuesday, August 11, 2026. I hope Darline does this, in that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey. Darline, who comes from an absolutely incredible family, has been a WINNER all of her life and, should she accept, has my Complete and Total Endorsement in the Special Election for U.S. Senate in South Carolina — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN. RUN, DARLINE, RUN! Trump”

“I asked Darline, for the Good of our Nation, to run for the U.S. Senate in the Special Republican Primary,” Trump said in the post. He set the primary date as Tuesday, August 11, 2026, and framed a Nordone candidacy as a way to honor her brother’s legacy.

The stakes reach beyond one family. A special election fills a Senate seat outside the regular cycle, and the president’s endorsement carries weight in a Republican primary. His backing signals which candidate the White House wants voters to choose.

Has this happened before? A sitting president backing a Senate candidate in a primary has happened before, and Trump has issued many such endorsements across recent cycles. His interventions have reshaped Republican primaries in several states.

Nordone has not publicly confirmed whether she will enter the race, based on the post. The next decision rests with her, and the special Republican primary is set for Tuesday, August 11, 2026. Filing deadlines and any election date beyond the primary were not stated in the post.

Special Senate elections have reshaped South Carolina politics before. In 1954, Strom Thurmond won a U.S. Senate seat from the state as a write-in candidate, the only person elected to the chamber that way. Thurmond went on to serve for decades and became one of the longest-serving senators of his era. The state’s Senate contests have long drawn national attention far beyond their borders.