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by WILL FOLKS
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South Carolina voters are being bombarded by attack ads targeting U.S. congressman Ralph Norman – a blitzkrieg of negative campaigning funded by political action committees (PACs) loyal to interim U.S. senator Darline Graham Nordone.
Norman and Nordone are in the midst of a heated head-to-head intra-party battle – a decisive special GOP runoff election that will determine who will replace Nordone’s late brother, Lindsey Graham, on the 2026 general election ballot for U.S. Senate this fall. Millions of dollars in special interest money has been flowing in support of Nordone ever since she announced her entry into this race last month – a velocity of insider cash that is accelerating the closer we get to the August 25, 2026 runoff.
According to a new analysis of advertising spending prepared by veteran Palmetto political strategist Rick Quinn – son of the late, legendary strategist Richard Quinn – Nordone’s allies (and Norman’s enemies) are continuing to decisively outspend the veteran congressman on the airwaves.
Since August 11, 2026, a staggering $7.25 million has been spent on campaign advertising in this election – $5.68 million of it (78.4%) on behalf of Nordone and $1.57 million (21.6%) on behalf of Norman, per Quinn’s analysis.
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“Norman is being outspent 3.6 to 1 in this runoff,” Quinn noted.
More money has been spent on advertisements attacking Norman ($2.03 million) than his campaign has spent in total advertising, Quinn noted. A big chunk of that change has been devoted to taking the fight to Norman in his back yard.
“The (Nordone) side is buying Norman’s home market and Norman is not defending it,” Quinn said, referring to the Charlotte, North Carolina metropolitan statistical area (MSA), where Nordone backers (or Norman opponents) have spent nearly $754,000 going after the 73-year-old real estate developer.
Norman has represented South Carolina’s fifth district – which includes several counties in the Charlotte MSA – since 2017.
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In addition to getting pummeled on his home turf, Norman has been slow to the draw across the state.
“Norman got on the air late,” Quinn said, pointing out that the congressman was outspent by a whopping 7.5 to 1 margin during the first week of the special runoff election. That margin has narrowed somewhat during the second week of the race, but Norman is still being decisively outspent down the homestretch of the contest.
Is the anti-Norman bombardment having its intended effect? A recently leaked internal poll conducted between August 12-13, 2026 showed Norman with a double digit lead over Nordone, but multiple sources tracking the contest have told FITSNews this gap has narrowed considerably over the past week.
Also, as FITSNews first reported last week, U.S. president Donald Trump is coming to the Palmetto State tomorrow (August 21, 2026) to campaign for Nordone.
Voters head to the polls next Tuesday, with the winner of this election facing Democrat Annie Andrews, LIbertarian Kasie Whitener, Constitution Party candidate Mark Hackett and several other independent candidates on November 3, 2026.
BANNER VIA: GETTY IMAGES
THE ANALYSIS…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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1 comment
And you, FITS, are unfairly blasting Darline.
Your evocation, on your WIR today, of the teen-age beauty contestant from decades ago is so off-base it is cruel.
That teen-age dumb blonde had been asked why 20% of Americans can’t find the U.S. on a map of the world. Darline was asked a very specific national security question.
I would have been worried if Darline HAD AN OPINION. Not every Joe (or Jill) Schmoe needs to have an opinion on national security.
Heck! Not even every member of Congress gets full briefing on national security issues, only members who sit on select committees do.
I have more confidence in someone who admits what she does not know than in a someone spouting off sonorous opinions without sufficient underlying knowledge.
People can learn.
Darline seems to be a quick study.
I do not recall such a fuss when Sara Palin bragged about her national security “expertise” with “I can see Russia from my house.” And Palin was then running for Vice-President.