South Carolina’s Republican governor is tasked with naming a replacement to serve out the rest of Graham’s term, and a special primary is set for August.
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Lindsey Graham, the longtime Republican senator from South Carolina, died suddenly Saturday night, creating an unexpected vacancy in the midst of his campaign for a fifth term.
His death further complicates President Donald Trump’s agenda in Congress, temporarily narrowing an already wobbly GOP majority in the Senate, and raises questions about U.S. policy toward Russia. Graham, a vocal foreign policy hawk, was a strong supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia and recently returned from meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Here’s what we know about what comes next for Graham’s Senate seat:
Under South Carolina law, the governor can appoint someone to serve out the remainder of Graham’s term at any time. A spokesperson for Gov. Henry McMaster did not immediately respond to questions about his timeline for filling the position. In a statement, McMaster called Graham “irreplaceable” and “the fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America.”
Graham won the Republican Senate primary last month and was the heavy favorite to win November’s general election in conservative South Carolina. Now the party must find a new candidate through a special election, according to state law.
The filing period will open the second Tuesday after Graham’s death, which falls on July 21. Candidates will then have one week, through July 28, to declare their interest in filling his seat. A special primary will take place two weeks later, on Aug. 4. If no candidate wins outright, a runoff will take place two weeks after that, on Aug. 18.
Graham held his Senate seat for more than two decades, essentially locking out a generation of ambitious South Carolina politicians. There could be a scramble among Republicans for what has the potential to become a lifetime position in a deep-red state.
South Carolina has six sitting GOP House members, including Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, who both gave up their seats to run unsuccessfully for governor this year. A person familiar with Mace’s thinking confirmed that she is strongly considering running for Senate.
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South Carolina’s crowded gubernatorial primary also included Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Trump’s initial pick, who lost in a runoff. Graham faced a primary challenge from the right in business owner Mark Lynch, who received nearly 29 percent of the vote in June.
In the end, Trump may have the decisive voice in Graham’s replacement, given the outsize weight his endorsement carries in the Republican Party. Trump said Sunday morning on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that there is “somebody that I think would be great” to fill Graham’s seat, though he declined to share the name because it was “too soon.” He added, “I don’t want to even talk about anybody, but I do have somebody that I think is really good.”
When the Senate returns this week from recess, Republicans will be down two members. In addition to Graham, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has been hospitalized since last month, with little clarity about his condition.
Now the GOP will have only the barest majority to pursue its agenda, including the confirmation of Trump’s controversial nominee for attorney general, Todd Blanche, who is scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday. Despite holding a 53-47 edge, the GOP has increasingly struggled to keep its caucus together on key votes due to ideological clashes between Trump and more moderate Republicans.
There is not much time for them to act. The Senate plans to work for the next four weeks, then take off for another month, returning in mid-September.
Graham, who chaired the Senate Budget Committee, had been expected to help shepherd another Republican reconciliation bill, giving Trump an easier path to pursue his priorities through fast-track fiscal legislation. And shortly before his death, Graham announced a bipartisan deal with the White House to advance long-delayed sanctions on Russia with the aim of exerting renewed pressure on the country to end its war against Ukraine.
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Ben Binday contributed to this report.
