By admin 
The race for South Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat transformed this summer when longtime U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham suddenly died while campaigning for a fifth term.
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While Republicans scrambled to elect a new candidate in six weeks, Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician from Charleston, kept campaigning for the general election. It was an unexpected couple of weeks for the Andrews campaign where it didn’t have a major-party opponent or Lindsey Graham’s track record to aim attacks.
“Not having an opponent allowed me the opportunity to really focus on communicating what it is I stand for and what I will fight for, rather than being attacked by an opponent or attacking an opponent,” Andrews said in an interview following the runoff. “I was able to talk day in and day out about my plans to lower gas prices, grocery prices, fix our broken healthcare system and root out the corruption that’s degrading American democracy.”
Andrews will face Republican nominee U.S. Sen. Darline Graham in November. Like Graham, Andrews says making life more affordable for South Carolinians is central to her campaign. And while Graham battled nine others challengers for Republicans’ support this month, Andrews had six extra weeks to reach voters as her party’s nominee.
The six weeks allowed her to speak with more Republican and independent voters, Andrews said, while GOP U.S. Senate replacement candidates had to speak to their base to survive a special primary.
“It doesn’t allow them a lot of time to refine their messaging,” Andrews said in a July 21 interview. “And I think if you go back and look at my messaging from the day I got in this campaign in May of 2025, it hasn’t changed. What is changing is who I’m talking to now that we’re in the general election. But what I’m fighting for, what I’m saying, has not changed because I know what I believe in.”
Now, Andrews isn’t competing against a seasoned longtime lawmaker like Lindsey Graham. Darline Graham, who inherited many of her brother’s campaign infrastructure and staff, hasn’t had as much time to communicate her views to the public and some still may see her as unknown.
It’s also shaping up to be a favorable year for Democratic candidates nationwide, thanks in part to midterm trends favoring the party not in power and a low-polling president.
Political watchers say it will likely not be enough for Andrews to topple Graham.
“I think Annie Andrews is a strong candidate,” said Jordan Ragusa, a political science professor at the College of Charleston. “She’s run before. I think her messaging is right for the moment. But … I think it’s too much of an uphill battle.”
The Cook Political Report rates South Carolina’s U.S. Senate race as “Solid Republican.” The late Fritz Hollings was the last Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from South Carolina, and he retired in 2006 after 38 years. In recent years, statewide GOP candidates win with 10 to 20 percentage point margins.
“It’s hard for me to see this becoming a competitive race,” said Steve Kornacki, the chief data analyst at NBC News and host of the station’s “Kornacki Cam” livestream. “I could see the Democrats, the climate being favorable nationally, and I could see the Democrats getting it closer than they otherwise would, but to put it into that tier where [it’s going to be] a closely watched national race, in this day and age, I’m not sure that’s possible.”
Andrews and her supporters still say it could be a competitive race for them. An shows her tied with Graham at 41%. Former Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison, who ran an expensive bid against Graham in 2020, posted “don’t sleep on Annie Andrews” on X Thursday morning. Andrews’ campaign dropped a new TV and digital ad the day after the runoff, where she mentioned working across the aisle with Republicans.
Danielle Vinson, a political science professor at Furman University, said Graham may have to work harder to beat Andrews than her brother.
“I think Lindsey Graham could have probably mostly coasted,” Vinson said. “I think Darline Graham is going to have to work a little bit harder. Lindsey Graham would not have been making missteps on the campaign trail, and nobody would have been questioning, ‘Did he know enough?’ ”
Both Andrews and Graham have already gone negative on one another in the days following the primary election.
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Graham, throughout her campaign and in her acceptance speech Tuesday night, cast Andrews as “radical.” Andrews’ campaign created a website criticizing Graham for not already committing to three debates.
“They may not play nice with each other,” said Vinson.
Vinson said Graham will likely have to debate Andrews at least once, otherwise it may be a bad look for the Republican candidate. A spokesperson for Graham’s campaign did not respond to a call asking about future debates.
“I think if you are brand new on the scene as she is, that’s a bad look to just avoid it altogether,” said Vinson. “Now you may not need to debate her three times, but you’re going to need to show up at least once.”
Third-party candidates in the race include Kasie Whitener, the Libertarian candidate, and Mark Hackett of the Constitution Party.
Who is Annie Andrews?
Andrews is a pediatrician from Charleston. She said in June she would quit her job in the hospital to campaign full time following the primary.
Andrews previously ran unsuccessfully for the 1st Congressional District and declared a bid for the U.S. Senate in May 2025. She won the Democratic nomination in June outright by 31 percentage points, beating two other candidates.
Her campaign has focused on lowering costs and improving health care, including by stopping cuts to Medicaid.
Graham characterized Andrews as “radical” to her supporters in her Tuesday night victory speech.
“For those who are not aware, you need to know that my Democratic opponent, Dr. Annie Andrews, is the most radical liberal ever nominated for a statewide office by the South Carolina Democratic Party,” said Graham in her acceptance speech. “Her views are those of Bernie Sanders and AOC.”
When asked where she falls on Democratic ideological spectrum, Andrews said she is “pragmatic” and would work with Republicans to improve the lives of South Carolinians.
“I think we get caught up in the national media about these labels, and I just kind of reject all of that because I’m running to represent the people in South Carolina,” Andrews said in an Aug. 11 interview.
“I’m a pragmatic person who just wants to solve some problems,” she continued.
Political scientists described Andrews as a strong candidate. She previously ran for federal office in 2022 against U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace and coasted to victory in her June primary.
She also has raised millions for the statewide campaign. By the end of June, Andrews had $4.1 million cash on hand and had raised $10.8 million during the campaign.
The increased national attention brought by the special Republican primary has helped Andrews’ fundraising, she said. Her campaign declined to provide a specific amount of money raised in July and August.
“With the increased national attention on this race over the past few weeks, and especially over the past 24 hours, our fundraising, particularly our grassroots fundraising, is going really, really well,” Andrews said.
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