Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jul 22
Darline Graham Launches 6-Year Senate Bid, Pushes Brother’s Russia Sanctions Bill
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jul 22

Darline Graham Launches 6-Year Senate Bid, Pushes Brother’s Russia Sanctions Bill

3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Jul 22

Summary

  • Darline Graham has moved beyond caretaker status days after her appointment, campaigning for South Carolina’s August Republican primary while serving out Lindsey Graham’s seat.
  • Tuesday brought key signs of that push: she kept Lindsey Graham’s four committee assignments, introduced his bipartisan Russia sanctions proposal as her first bill, and co-sponsored Trump-backed election legislation.
  • Republican senators say they still do not know her policy profile well, though she has voted with the GOP and says she will use her panels to back Trump judicial nominees and steer resources to South Carolina.
  • Her early message is that she will honor Lindsey Graham’s legacy without copying him, signaling more focus on groceries, gas, health care and other domestic issues than on the foreign-policy role that defined her brother.

Insights

From foreign policy hawk to domestic focus: how will this Senate seat's dramatic shift impact South Carolina's national influence?
How will a career in disability services shape a new senator's approach to national issues like healthcare and the economy?
Can a leader with no political experience translate an appointment and a presidential endorsement into an election victory?