By admin 
A smiling U.S. Sen. Darline Graham walked on stage Tuesday evening to a Pitbull song after becoming the Republican Party’s U.S. Senate nominee. Excited supporters chanted “Darline” and held signs reading “South Carolina is Graham Country”
Read more USDA recalls mislabeled food product in SC because of allergies threat. Here are the details
But in her acceptance speech, Graham, the sister of a South Carolina political giant, told supporters the state was “truly Trump country.”
“I want to thank President Trump for all of his support and his endorsement,” Graham said. “…Our victory would not have been possible without you, and we are truly grateful.”
Trump’s desire for Graham, a political novice, to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate loomed large in the speedy, six-week primary election cycle. He endorsed Graham’s appointment to the seat following the sudden death of her brother and her bid for a full term. Both president and candidate say it was Trump who asked Graham to run for the U.S. Senate.
The endorsement was only the start of the president’s involvement.
Trump campaigned with Graham in Myrtle Beach on Friday, days before the runoff election and held two rallies via telephone for her.
“You vote for her, you’re going to be very proud of that vote,” Trump told Myrtle Beach. “The first step is winning the runoff election this Tuesday. You have to get out August 25. You have to get out and vote, and we need every South Carolina patriot to go to the polls and vote for Darline Graham.”
The president’s aligned super PAC also spent more than $827,000 on texts and phone calls benefitting Graham, something it has rarely done this year.
All the support from Trump was “decisive” in her victory against U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman by nearly five percentage points, political watchers said Wednesday.
“What put her over the edge was Trump’s, not only endorsement, but the fact that he was willing to come down and campaign on her behalf,” said Jordan Ragusa, a political science professor at the College of Charleston.
The gravity of the president’s backing in South Carolina, a state Trump likes to remind supporters he won three times, was in question leading up to Tuesday.
The president endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in the open governor’s race earlier this year, and she went on to finish first in the June 9 primary. However, after polling indicated she was falling behind the in the runoff even with the president’s support, Trump co-endorsed her competitor, Attorney General Alan Wilson. Wilson won the Republican nomination by 37 percentage points.
In May, Trump pushed the South Carolina General Assembly to pass a new congressional map intended to oust U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the sole Democratic member of the delegation. The White House and Trump reportedly called members of the state Senate, but it didn’t work. The upper chamber didn’t advance the new map after early voting began, bucking the president’s wishes.
“You might wonder whether he still has the same clout, and I think the answer is undeniably that he still has it,” Ragusa said. “He’s still the kingmaker in the Republican Party.”
Trump was more active in Graham’s pursuit than Evette’s. He never campaigned in person for Evette and co-endorsed her competition the Friday before the runoff.
For Graham, he invested time and money in the days leading up to what some thought could be a close election Aug. 25.
“Trump made sure that the MAGA base knew that this endorsement was unequivocal and a full-throated endorsement,” said Scott Huffmon, a political science professor at Winthrop University. No single factor wins an election, but Trump’s role in the special Senate primary was major, Huffmon said.
Trump campaigned for Graham in Myrtle Beach, an area of the state U.S. Rep. Russell Fry carried in the primary. In the runoff, Graham won Horry County by nearly 47 percentage points and 17,000 votes, a significant lead that helped the appointed senator secure the GOP nomination with the help of Trump.
“If those folks had turned out at the same rate, but the MAGA folks didn’t increase their turnout, Ralph would have had a chance of eking by and winning, so I think the increased turnout was probably core MAGA, and they followed Trump’s lead,” Huffmon said.
Read more Kohberger called his murder confession false. Now he’s got a hearing date
While Trump steadfastly backed Graham, she also made her support for the president a theme on the campaign trail. She frequently answered policy questions by saying she would support Trump.
Gov. Henry McMaster said Graham’s support for President Donald Trump factored in to his decision to back her ahead of the runoff. He endorsed Graham on Friday afternoon, shortly before Trump’s rally in Myrtle Beach began.
“When you have the Trump administration working with somebody they know they can depend on, it makes a lot of things happen a lot quicker, a lot easier,“ McMaster said.
Trump also spoke to McMaster on Wednesday morning, two days before the governor endorsed Graham, according to his schedule. McMaster would not say Tuesday whether the conversation included a push from Trump to endorse Graham.
“I don’t talk about my conversations with the president, although I enjoy talking to him very much,” McMaster said.
Graham supporters at one polling place in Lexington County were divided on the importance of Trump’s opinion when deciding who they would vote for.
One voter in Columbia said “of course” when asked if Trump’s endorsement helped make her decision to vote for Graham. Another said Trump’s endorsement for Graham mattered because it meant the appointed senator would help the president execute his agenda. Joyce Mosteller, who voted in Columbia on Tuesday, said the president’s endorsement didn’t change her opinion on the election.
“I like what he does because I’m a very firm supporter of Trump,” Mosteller said, but she supported Graham because she saw her as a candidate with compassion that would bring unity to the state.
‘I never understood why he got in this race’
Before Graham accepted the GOP nomination in Columbia, Norman conceded in Rock Hill.
While addressing a disappointed crowd of supporters, Norman brought up Trump.
“The president got involved. He has that right. That’s his prerogative,” Norman said. The crowd soon began booing the president’s endorsement. Norman previously told reporters he asked for Trump’s support.
“His policies are good,” Norman continued, interrupting the boos. “I never understood why he got in this race.”
Oconee County resident David Nix, who said Aug. 17 he would vote for Ralph Norman, said he “pretty much ignores” Trump’s endorsements.
“I don’t think he’s very much in touch with the politics of South Carolina,” Nix said.
Trump notably did not go negative against Norman while campaigning for Graham. He didn’t mention Norman by name, or even bring the congressman up indirectly, during his 1.5-hour long speech to supporters in Myrtle Beach. But after the election, gloves came off on social media.
“Ralph Norman had the look of a good Congressman (Not great, but good), but ruined his career when he endorsed Nikki Haley,” Trump wrote in a short Truth Social post Wednesday afternoon. Norman supported Haley’s presidential bid.
Graham will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews in November for the U.S. Senate seat.
Read more More people voted, Myrtle Beach delivered: 5 numbers from special SC Senate runoff
McClatchy reporter Nora O’Neill contributed reporting to this story