By admin 
President Donald Trump attacked Annie Andrews, the Democratic candidate for South Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat, on social media Monday evening and repeatedly used an anti-transgender slur against her.
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Andrews, who is not transgender, said the post was not presidential at a campaign stop Tuesday in Columbia.
“If name-calling would help lower gas prices and grocery prices, he can call me all the names he wants. But I don’t think that’s going to get the job done,” Andrews said in response to a reporter’s question.
Andrews, a pediatrician, is running against U.S. Sen. Darline Graham for U.S. Senate. Third party candidates include Libertarian Kasie Whitener and Constitution Party nominee Mark Hackett.
Trump has been a vocal backer of Graham from the beginning and endorsed her appointment and subsequent campaign for a full-term in the U.S. Senate following the sudden death of her brother, longtime lawmaker Lindsey Graham. Trump campaigned for Graham in Myrtle Beach ahead of the special Republican runoff, spoke during multiple telerallies for Graham’s campaign and poured $827,000 from his super PAC into supporting her bid in the primary.
Former Republican Gov. David Beasley called Trump’s post “abhorrent” on social media.
“Elections don’t have to be about cruelty and lies. South Carolina deserves better,” Beasley wrote on X Monday evening.
A spokesperson for Graham’s campaign did not respond to a call requesting comment on Trump’s post.
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Policies impacting transgender people have been a focal point of Graham’s campaign. A video-game style website developed by the campaign criticizes Andrews, including her stance on allowing transgender people to participate in sports that align with their gender identity and letting children “take medicines that can change their body forever.”
Andrews said Tuesday she opposes “biological men playing in women’s sports” and “gender surgery for minors.”
However, Andrews said it’s not an issue voters bring up frequently while campaigning.
“There’s far bigger problems that we should be focused on in this Senate race,” Andrews said.
A recent poll has shown a potentially tight race for South Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat. A September poll from Trafalgar . Nearly 6% of those polled responded “other” and 8.5% were undecided.
Other outside support is also reportedly coming to South Carolina for both candidates. Axios reported a super PAC for Senate GOP candidates will spend $5 million supporting Graham’s campaign ahead of Election Day. And on Tuesday, 314 Action, a political group supporting Democratic scientists and doctors, said it bundled $3.6 million in donations to Andrews’ campaign.
Total fundraising for Graham and Andrews in July, August and September will be reported next week.
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