Trump backs Sen. Darline Graham Nordone in primary to replace her late brother

2028 electionTrump backs Sen. Darline Graham Nordone in primary to replace her late brotherTrump previously recommended that Graham Nordone serve out her late brother’s term through January.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00President Donald Trump backed Sen. Darline Graham Nordone to run for a full term to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham as the Republican nominee for Senate in South Carolina. Finn Gomez / Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJuly 17, 2026, 4:08 PM EDTBy Alexandra MarquezPresident Donald Trump endorsed Sen. Darline Graham Nordone, R-S.C., in the special election to fill her late brother’s Senate seat for a full term in a post on Truth Social Friday.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“I asked Darline, for the Good of our Nation, to run for the U.S. Senate in the Special Republican Primary on Tuesday, August 11, 2026,” Trump wrote. “I hope Darline does this, in that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey.”The president added later in his post that Graham Nordone has his “complete and total endorsement.”Add NBC News to GoogleS.C. Gov McMaster appoints Darline Graham Nordone to fill Sen. Lindsey Graham's seat05:18She was appointed earlier this week by South Carolina GOP Gov. Henry McMaster to serve out the rest of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s term in the Senate, through early January.After she was sworn in on Tuesday, Sen. Darline Graham Nordone became South Carolina’s first female senator. She and her late brother often spoke about their close relationship, which included Lindsey Graham adopting his younger sister when she was 13, shortly after both of their parents died.“I don’t know what I would have done without him,” she told Fox News in a joint interview in 2015.The late senator died suddenly on Saturday night, triggering a Senate vacancy and a special election. He had been in the midst of a reelection campaign and had...