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by WILL FOLKS
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Interim U.S. senator Darline Graham Nordone formally submitted her paperwork on Friday afternoon (July 24, 2026) to seek the office vacated by the death of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, in an upcoming special primary election in South Carolina.
Nordone, 62, of Pendleton, S.C., appeared at the S.C. State Election Commission (SCVotes) headquarters in downtown Columbia shortly before 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday to file for the special GOP primary election scheduled for August 11, 2026. Although she declined to take questions from the media during her appearance, Nordone briefly addressed reporters after her filing.
“I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s shared your heartfelt condolences, your messages to me and my family,” she said. “It’s been a very difficult couple of weeks. It’s not where I thought I would be. It’s not where I ever wanted to be. I’d much rather have my brother back right now, but that’s just not – that wasn’t part of God’s plan.”
“Obviously, I just filed,” Nordone continued. “So I’m all in. I’m going to work hard to serve the people of South Carolina, I’m going to work hard to carry on Lindsey’s legacy. I’ve worked hard for the people of South Carolina for the past thirty years and that’s what I plan to continue to do.”
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Nordone said she was “so grateful” to have the endorsement of U.S. president Donald Trump, indicating she was “working together” with his administration on the Russian sanctions legislation her brother was championing prior to his death. She also announced that she was co-sponsoring the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (also known as the “SAVE America” bill) – another Trump priority in the 119th Congress.
“I’m a strong conservative, I’m pro-life, I support the Second Amendment and I backed a bill to cut down on fraud,” Nordone said. “So in my first two weeks, those are some of the things I’ve been working hard on already during this very difficult time.”
As she launches her campaign, Nordone is benefiting from more than $900,000 in “high-frequency digital advertising on multiple platforms, direct mail campaigns, targeted text messaging, and television advertising” from a neoconservative political action committee called ‘Security is Strength’ that previously supported her brother.
In fact, the PAC was running ads in support of her candidacy prior to her filing.
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Nordone proceeded to ask for “a little bit of time over the next few days because the next few days are going to be very difficult for me and my family and the staff that were so close (to her late brother) – they were like extended family to us as well.”
That’s a reference to funeral services for Graham, which have been set for next Tuesday and Wednesday (July 28-29, 2026) in Washington, D.C., Columbia, S.C. and Pickens County, S.C.
“I’d just ask for a little grace and a little time right now,” Nordone said.
Recent polling shows Nordone running neck-and-neck with S.C. fifth district congressman Ralph Norman in a crowded race – one in which numerous likely GOP primary voters remain undecided as to their choice.
Filing for this special election – which is already a cattle call – closes next Tuesday (July 28, 2026) at 12:30 p.m. EDT. The special primary will be held just two weeks later, on August 11 – with a head-to-head runoff election on tap for August 25 between the top two vote-getters in the likely event no candidate secure a majority on the first ballot.
The winner of the special GOP primary will face Democrat Annie Andrews, Libertarian Kasie Whitener, Constitution Party candidate Mark Hackett and several other independent candidates in the November 3, 2026 general election.
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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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