PENDLETON, S.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump traveled to South Carolina on Wednesday to boost U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, whose stumbles in her first campaign since replacing her late brother have Democratic voters hopeful — but not necessarily optimistic — that their candidate can break Republicans' grip on the state.
Trump, who was repeatedly interrupted by protesters early in his speech, sought to reassure South Carolinians on Wednesday that the late Sen. Lindsey Graham held his sister in high esteem. “Everybody respects her. She’s smart and incredible. She’ll never let you down,” Trump said as he made a case for her.
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He said Graham's Democratic opponent, pediatrician Annie Andrews, would "be the most extreme and one of the most crazy people in the entire country. It would be a disaster.”
The president initially focused his remarks along Republican attack lines that accuse Andrews of supporting surgeries for transgender minors, which she denies. But the president over an hour and a half drifted from subject to subject, spending relatively little time on South Carolina.
Instead, he mused about renaming bodies of water, lamented that he should have won the Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer Prize, and did an imitation of a female bodybuilder. He ticked through some of the things he has done since returning to office, like his push to lower drug prices, and some goals for the rest of his term, such as expanding the death penalty.
Although South Carolina is not typically a midterm battleground, Trump has been deeply invested in Graham. He supported her appointment to replace Lindsey Graham after his death in July, and he backed her in a special primary when she faced several more experienced Republican opponents. But some distance emerged between the Republican president and the senator over the weekend over his decision to waive Ukraine war sanctions on Russia that were set to be imposed under a law named after Lindsey Graham.
Republicans want to make sure Andrews doesn't pull off an upset victory. More than $34 million has flowed into the race, and Republicans have hammered Andrews as a “radical liberal."
Trump this week is rallying every day for candidates across the country, even in conservative areas, and imploring voters to “pretend I'm on the ballot” in hopes of averting a lackluster midterm turnout for Republicans.
“Darline Graham knows that our campaign’s momentum is so strong she called Donald Trump to come campaign for her in South Carolina," Andrews said in a fundraising appeal email.
Lindsey Graham had been on a glide path to a fifth term when he died of an aortic tear. Darline Graham, former director of the state agency for the blind, received bipartisan support when she was appointed to serve out her brother's term. But her decision to run for the seat in the midterms prompted skepticism that the political neophyte was up for the job.
Darline Graham had the endorsement of Trump, who campaigned for her before the runoff with U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman. A stumble over a question related to U.S. policy in Taiwan, in which Graham admitted she was “not that informed on national security,” prompted questions over her readiness.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is from South Carolina and spoke ahead of Trump on Wednesday, said Graham was driven by the same kind of hope for America that her brother was.
“As long as Donald Trump is in the White House, and Darline Graham is in the Senate, we can all hope for a better country," he said.
Waiting for her at a weekend event in Mount Pleasant, Nanette Tumbleston said she felt strongly Graham should win, shuddering to think of what might happen if the seat fell to Democrats.
“I hope that everybody’s eyes will be open and we’ll have a Republican win," Tumbleston said, adding that she feared progressives' influence in the Democratic Party. “I just can’t see how they can see that the world’s going to be a better place with those policies.”
Andrews launched her campaign more than a year before Lindsey Graham's death. She pivoted to criticizing Darline Graham as “Trump-endorsed and unqualified.”
Andrews argues that Republican policies have weakened not only the broader U.S. economy but also the financial situations of children and families, centering her message on “building a South Carolina that we can all afford,” as she said last week in Columbia.
As the pediatrician seemed to gain steam this fall, Republican groups infused millions of dollars into the race, characterizing the spending as an insurance policy for Graham. Trump attacked Andrews on social media, saying the Democrat doesn’t represent “the Values of the Great People of South Carolina.”
Some Andrews supporters acknowledge that while Democrats might ultimately break through in South Carolina, it might take more time.
Paul Davis, of Aiken, said “people are really angry and fed up, and they can’t afford things.” However, he said a Democratic victory “may be a cycle or two away.”
At their only debate, Graham and Andrews disagreed on issues including healthcare but primarily accused each other of inexperience.
“It is nothing personal, but she has shown time and time again that she is not up for the job,” Andrews said, calling Graham's interim appointment “a nice gesture."
Graham said serving while processing her brother's death showed “just how strong I am,” adding that ”I’m just as qualified as you are.”
At the Columbia rally, some of Andrews' supporters said they were hopeful, despite Democrats' years of Senate losses in the state. When Lindsey Graham last ran in 2020, he defeated Democrat Jaime Harrison by 10 percentage points in a contest that turned into South Carolina’s most expensive ever.
“It’s definitely frustrating," said Emily Glenham, a Columbia copywriter. "It’s definitely been disappointing, but you can’t not have hope.”
Sandra Martin, of West Columbia, agreed Andrews had “a good chance” but looked more toward the future.
“Georgia did it,” she said. “If Georgia can do it, there’s no reason we can’t, someday.”
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Price reported from Washington. Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
