Lexington GOP backs Norman in runoff, despite Graham getting most votes in primary

With just over a week before the Aug. 25 S.C. special Republican runoff for U.S. Senate, the Lexington County GOP executive committee rejected the first place primary finisher and endorsed U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman.

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U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump ahead of the primary, could not get the backing of her home county GOP despite receiving 38.64% votes in Lexington County on Aug. 11. She had the most votes in all but two of the 96 Lexington County precincts.

Instead, the Lexington GOP executive committee in a 23-6 vote on Monday backed Norman, who received 17.53% of the vote finished in fourth place in Lexington County.

Graham and Norman advanced to the Aug. 25 runoff they were the top two finishers statewide when no candidate received a majority of the support of GOP primary voters to replace the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on the November ballot.

Parties traditionally stay neutral in nomination battles as they are responsible for turning out the base voters during the general election.

“Primaries belong to Republican voters. Our job as a county party should be to provide a fair, transparent process and allow Republican voters to hear from the candidates and make their own decisions,” said Dawn Pierce, a member of the Lexington GOP executive committee while speaking against the endorsement.

Endorsing candidates in primaries and runoffs is not new for the Lexington County GOP. It endorsed in races in 2024. The Lexington County Republican Party endorsed Attorney General Alan Wilson ahead of runoff for the nomination for governor.

On Saturday evening ahead of the SC GOP Silver Elephant Gala, Graham, the younger sister of Lindsey Graham, said the endorsement was up to the local party, when asked about how much a Lexington County endorsement of Norman would hurt her campaign.

Read more Lexington GOP backs Norman in runoff, despite Graham getting most votes in primary

“I’ll keep fighting. I keep plugging away, and I’m feeling confident. I think in the end, we’ll win,” Darline Graham said.

Among those to support endorsing Norman was outgoing state Rep. Ryan McCabe, a member of the hard-line conservative S.C. House Freedom Caucus who supported Norman during this run for governor.

“The people who are doing the endorsements in this county party are doing the right thing because they’re not just rubber-stamping the incumbents, and that’s what happens in the party in this state,” McCabe said. “Incumbents are rubber-stamped whether they follow the Republican Party platform or not. Now let’s talk about Ralph Norman. What has Ralph Norman done? Ralph Norman has followed the party platform.”

Lexington County GOP Chairman Mark Weber defended the practice of the county party endorsing in a nomination battle, even if it risks going against the eventual nominee.

“You have elected representatives from each represented precinct that participate in the vote,” Weber said during an interview. “The folks that are participating are the ones that get to vote. So it’s not just a popularity contest. It’s people that are active and involved in our party. And if you don’t participate, you don’t get to vote.”

“Our batting average, when we have done endorsements in the last two and a half years, is actually pretty good,” Weber added during the meeting.

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