South Carolina’s U.S. Senate Race: Massive Spending on Both Sides

by WILL FOLKS

***

The race for the United States Senate in South Carolina was never supposed to be competitive. Republicans haven’t lost one of these elections since 1998 – and Democrats’ decision to nominate a decidedly left-of-center candidate like Annie Andrews was supposed to keep that streak very much alive.

Four (4) distinct things have happened since then, though, conspiring to turn one of the safest “Republican” seats in America into a virtual toss-up – a race which the GOP is having to spend heavily on just to keep in its column.

First, the original GOP nominee – long-serving neoconservative senator Lindsey Graham – died suddenly on July 11, 2026, forcing the party to hold a special primary election to replace him on the ballot.

During that election, the second significant development took place: U.S. president Donald Trump inexplicably decided to collaborate with entrenched insider interests to install Graham’s sister – liberal bureaucrat Darline Graham Nordone – as his successor. That decision was immensely unpopular with South Carolina conservatives – and became positively toxic when pro-Nordone interests decided to savage the conservative candidate, congressman Ralph Norman, with a blitzkrieg of negative ads. Not surprisingly, Norman has no interest whatsoever in throwing Nordone a lifeline during her hour of need.

***

***

Third, Andrews has evolved as a candidate – choosing to embrace the prevailing economic populism over the cultural warfare being waged by the far left progressive wing of her party. Her ability to get the jump on Nordone on this critical electoral front has been instrumental in her surprising rise to relevance – along with the rampant GOP division.

Fourth, and finally, we have the root cause of the economic populism: soaring prices. Most notably, an estimated $124.8 billion in additional fuel costs has been imposed on American motorists since Trump launched his ill-conceived war with the Islamic Republic of Iran in late February. Lindsey Graham played a star role in dragging America into that conflict, and it’s not lost on many South Carolina voters that the same interests which propped him up are now propping up his eminently unqualified relative.

How much are these interests spending? And how much are Democrats shelling out on a seat they never thought they’d have a shot at winning? Lots…

***

RELATED | RALPH NORMAN BLASTS ‘FAKE’ DARLINE GRAHAM NORDONE

***

According to a new analysis prepared by Resonance Media – the firm run by Rick Quinn, son of the late, legendary strategist Richard Quinn – a staggering $12.1 million was spent on this race from October 20-26.

That’s right… more than $2 million per day.

“Republicans and their allies outspent Democrats $6.27 million to $5.83 million,” Quinn noted. “Democrats lead in what’s booked for this week, $6.90 million to $5.51 million, but this week’s numbers are incomplete and still coming in.”

The biggest spender of the week, per Quinn’s analysis (.pdf), was the Senate Leadership Fund, which dropped a staggering $3.73 million over the seven days ending October 26. That’s roughly twice the amount spent by Andrews’ campaign over the same period.

According to Quinn, the largest share of this money is being targeted on the Palmetto Upstate – a predominantly Republican region of South Carolina that includes Greenville and Spartanburg counties. A whopping $4.26 million was spent there last week – an estimated 35% of all spending. Democrats enjoyed an edge in the Upstate electoral investment – dropping $2.35 million compared to Republicans’ $1.91 million.

***

In Charleston, which leans more to the center of the partisan spectrum, Republicans doubled up Democrats last week – spending $1.33 million on behalf of Nordone compared to $664,000 spent in support of Andrews. Spending in the Florence-Myrtle Beach ($1.96 million) and Columbia ($1.44 million) markets was evenly split between GOP and Democrat ads, per Quinn.

The numbers are only going to continue to rise… with another $12.4 million in advertising booked between October 27 and the day before the election (November 2, 2026).

Since October 19 – just eleven days ago – the race has drawn a total of $28 million in booked spending through the election: $14.6 million Democratic and $13.4 million Republican, per Quinn’s figures.

A corresponding analysis by GOP strategist Kurt Pickhardt found a total of $30.3 million in total spending on the race since September 8, 2026.

Which investment will pay off? Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we track this race down to the wire…

***

THE REPORT…

***

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.

***

SOUND OFF…

Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.