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by WILL FOLKS
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The special primary race to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the late Lindsey Graham is turning into an old fashioned cattle call – with the one-week filing period for Republican candidates to declare their intentions (and pay the $10,440 filing fee to appear on the ballot) becoming a veritable bum rush.
Five candidates submitted paperwork on Tuesday (July 21, 2026) – the first day of filing – to the S.C. State Election Commission (SCVotes). They include two names we’ve referenced in our prior coverage, one blast from the past, one unknown out-of-state candidate and one candidate who allegedly used algae to cure his own cancer (yes, you read that right).
With four known candidates yet to file, that means at least nine names will appear on the August 11, 2026 ballot.
First to submit his paperwork on Tuesday was Mark Lynch, an Upstate businessman and social conservative firebrand who challenged Graham in the 2026 partisan primary election on June 9. While Lynch was defeated handily by Graham, he drew nearly 30% of the vote – and has considerable financial resources available to plow into his candidacy.
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We interviewed Lynch during his first bid for the Senate, and are hoping to have him back in our studios prior to the upcoming election.
Next to submit paperwork was Walterboro, S.C. attorney Duke Buckner, who ran in the 2022 and 2024 elections against powerful incumbent congressman Jim Clyburn. Buckner managed just 37.85% and 36.72% of the vote against Clyburn in those two elections, respectively, but his vote totals (and his percentages of total ballots cast) represent the best Republican performances ever in this highly gerrymandered district.
Be on the lookout for a story on Buckner’s candidacy in the coming days…
Also filing on Tuesday was Mark Struthers McBride, who served as mayor of Myrtle Beach, S.C. from 1998-2005. McBride previously ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2004 – finishing in fifth place with 2.2% of the vote. That’s one of several failed bids for higher office he has undertaken over the past two decades. In 2020, McBride was handily defeated by attorney Case Brittain in his bid for a seat in the S.C. House of Representatives. In 2022, McBride finished in sixth place in the race for South Carolina’s seventh congressional district, this time garnering just 1.97% of the vote.
McBride has also tried and failed on multiple occasions to reclaim the mayor’s office – with his latest unsuccessful attempt coming last November.
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Filing wasn’t limited to South Carolina residents, either. Virginia native Clark Neilsen, a land surveyor from Charlotte, N.C., also submitted his paperwork to run for Graham’s seat. Neilsen is the president of R.B. Pharr & Associates, a surveying and mapping company based in the Queen City that does business in North and South Carolina.
For those of you wondering, there is no residency requirement to run for U.S. Senate. Applicants for the job need only be thirty years of age and have been a U.S. citizen for nine years.
The fifth candidate to file on Tuesday is Samuel Shepherd, who hails from Houston, Texas but lists Lexington, S.C. as his hometown. According to Shepherd, who is styled as a “physicist, engineer and inventor with decades of experience across biochemistry, environmental science and high-level government projects,” he “discovered” a naturally occurring molecule called astaxanthin – found in algae – and used it to cure his own cancer.
“When Samuel Shepherd was diagnosed with a rare terminal blood cancer, doctors told him there was no treatment, no cure, and possibly very little time left,” a podcast promo featuring Shepherd noted. “For many people, that would have been the end of the story. For Samuel, it became the beginning of an obsession.”
Apparently, he has a new obsession…
Filing will continue through next Tuesday (July 28, 2026) at 12:00 p.m. EDT as the field for this rushed special election takes shape. As of this writing, four high-profile candidates have yet to submit their paperwork: interim U.S. senator Darline Graham Nordone of Pendleton, outgoing fifth district congressman Ralph Norman of Rock Hill, seventh district congressman Russell Fry of Surfside Beach and former two-term South Carolina governor Mark Sanford of Dale.
Nordone, Norman and Fry have all indicated they are running, while Sanford has initiated the formation of a campaign committee.
Who else may file? We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled…
BANNER VIA: GETTY IMAGES
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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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