Darline Graham returns to the debate stage as GOP nerves hit overdrive: COLUMBIA, S.C. — Sen. Darline Graham has a critical mission when she takes the debate stage Sunday night: Save face and calm Republican nerves.
Graham, the GOP political novice, and Annie Andrews, the Democratic pediatrician, are set to square off in the first and only debate of South Carolina’s Senate race — an unexpectedly competitive contest in the ruby-red Palmetto State.
For Graham, the debate is treacherous terrain — but a crucial opportunity. During a primary debate in August, the South Carolina Republican conceded that she’s “not that informed on national security,” sparking a viral moment and raising serious concerns about her qualifications for the full six-year Senate term.
Since then, she eked out a primary victory over Rep. Ralph Norman and is now running neck-and-neck against Andrews, polls show. National Republicans are growing nervous, sending in big names and money in the final stretch of midterm campaigning in hopes of nudging Graham over the finish line.
The last time South Carolina elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate was in 1998.
During a campaign stop in Charleston on Friday alongside Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Tim Scott Scott, R-S.C., the chairman of the Senate GOP campaign arm, Graham sounded convinced yet clear-eyed.
“It is going to be a close race, but I feel confident that we’re going to win,” Graham said.
“We’re going to hold the Republican seat here in South Carolina,” she told reporters. “That is so important.”
Sunday night’s debate — which comes exactly three months after the passing of Darline Graham’s brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham — will be a key inflection point in the race, as the GOP candidate returns to the debate stage to redeem herself from this summer’s blunder.
And while Graham may be confident in the race, recent moves show that top Republicans are downright jittery.
In perhaps the most telling sign, Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Thune, is funneling $5 million into the race as “an… https://www.ms.now/news/darline-graham-annie-andrews-south-carolina-senate-debate