By admin 
After the sudden death of the late Lindsey Graham, voters only had a few weeks to decide who they want to replace the longtime senator on the ballot.
Read more Data centers, war, national debt: Where do SC Senate GOP candidates differ?
On many issues, there isn’t much daylight between the Republican candidates’ views. They say they are “pro-life,” oppose the growing national debt and support President Donald Trump-backed voter identification laws.
U.S. Sen. Darline Graham and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman received the most votes in the initial Aug. 11 primary, and a runoff election was triggered when neither won more than 50% of the vote.
The runoff election is Tuesday, Aug. 25 and early voting begins Wednesday. The winner of the Republican U.S. Senate primary will compete against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews in November.
Here’s where Norman and Graham differ, and agree, on some contentious issues.
National debt and government spending
Affordability for average South Carolinians was a leading issue for almost every U.S. Senate candidate. Reducing government spending and the national debt is also part of the equation for both remaining candidates.
Graham said she wants to cut government spending, reduce fraud and grow the economy. She also advocated to cut duplicate government services during a forum on Monday in Greenville.
Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, also pushed for passing a federal balanced budget. While he would support money for infrastructure like the Charleston port, Norman said all federal spending should be scrutinized.
“I‘m going to look at every grant, every expenditure to see 1. what’s return on investment, 2. each entity that gets our money, what’s their equity, what are they putting into it?” Norman said Monday. “And we’re going to take a conservative view.”
Data centers and energy
Graham and Norman broadly agree on how the U.S. should approach data center development, controversial warehouses of servers used to power digital services and artificial intelligence. Data centers are necessary to compete with China on artificial intelligence, but locals should have a say if the infrastructure is right for their community.
Both candidates also said artificial intelligence should be regulated.
“I don’t think these data centers should be built in people’s backyards without community involvement and guardrails and regulations in place,” Graham said Monday.
Graham also said data center companies should build their own power sources to avoid costing ratepayers.
“I think we need to build data centers here,” Graham said during a primary debate, adding she believed Democrats didn’t like the warehouses because of noise pollution.
Norman also said local communities should have a say on where data centers are located. He added during a primary debate that the state and federal government should focus on developing nuclear energy to meet growing demand.
The congressman also said during a debate Tuesday he opposed incentives for data centers.
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War in Iran
On the war in Iran, several candidates said they supported President Donald Trump’s invasion and wanted to see the country’s nuclear program destroyed. More than five months into the conflict, Iran’s nuclear capabilities have not been stopped, according to New York Times reporting.
Norman said Iran could not have nuclear capabilities, but he said Congress needed to approve any military boots on the ground during a debate Tuesday evening. In a forum on Monday, Norman said he would trust the Trump administration’s generals.
Graham took a similar stance to her late brother Lindsey Graham, supporting conflict if it meant ending the country’s nuclear program. On whether there should be troops on the ground in Iran, Graham said she would trust the president in an interview with Fox Carolina.
“The more we can fight them over there and prevent it over there, the better for the United States,” Graham said during a primary debate.
Both candidates support a sanctions bill named for the late Lindsey Graham targeting Russia and Iran.
Social Security
Both Norman and Graham said the federal government needed to tackle waste and fraud in the Social Security program, which could be depleted in the next six years, according to some government estimates.
In response to a question about shoring up Social Security on Monday, Norman said he would propose legislation to “let Americans spend more of their own money,”
“We can’t keep it as the way it is,” Norman said. “Again, it’s kind of like the cuts. We just haven’t had the courage to tackle Social Security.”
Graham said maintaining Social Security was important to her.
“Lindsey and I relied on Social Security when our parents died when we were younger,” she said. “So, Social Security is important.”
Immigration
Both candidates said during a debate Tuesday they opposed illegal immigration and birthright citizenship.
“Here’s what I believe in: legal immigration, not illegal immigration,” Norman said. “We have to have a pathway, but you have to get the illegals out of the country now.”
Graham said she had a stricter view on illegal immigration than her brother. She told reporters Tuesday she did not have a position on the H-1B program, which allows employers to hire non-U.S. citizens in some specialty programs.
“I differ from my brother,” Graham said. “It’s really clear to me: if you’re here illegally, you need to be deported.”
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