The “placeholder” is aiming to be permanent.
Sen. Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an interview airing Monday that she’s planning to run for a full Senate term rather than simply serving out her brother’s fourth term representing South Carolina.
“I’m in,” she told Hannity.
“I’m in.”
Over a week after the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Darline Graham tells @seanhannity she’s running for the full Senate term to replace her brother in South Carolina.
“I have been praying a lot, talking to my family… I feel like I can do it. I feel an inner… pic.twitter.com/N12NcgXqT4
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 20, 2026
The news upsets the widely held view that Graham Nordone was unlikely to seek the seat on more than a temporary basis.
But it follows President Donald Trump’s public declaration on Friday that he wanted Graham Nordone to seek to stay in the Senate.
Would you vote for Darline Graham Nordone?
In a post published on the Truth Social social media platform, Trump described Nordone’s visit to the White House after she was sworn in as her brother’s replacement on Wednesday.
“During her visit, I asked Darline, for the Good of our Nation, to run for the U.S. Senate in the Special Republican Primary on Tuesday, August 11, 2026,” Trump wrote.
“I hope Darline does this, in that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey. Darline, who comes from an absolutely incredible family, has been a WINNER all of her life and, should she accept, has my Complete and Total Endorsement in the Special Election for U.S. Senate in South Carolina.”
In the interview airing Monday, Hannity noted that the filing period for candidates seeking the seat opens on Tuesday under South Caroline election law and closes July 28.
He also noted Trump’s position, describing it as “an ask.”
“It’s a lot of pressure,” he said.
“It’s a tremendous amount of pressure,” Graham Nordone agreed.
However, she said, after praying about the matter, talking about it with her family and getting the support of her brother’s staff, “I feel like I can do it.”
“I feel an inner peace about it,” she said.
“I’m in.”
How the news affects other potential candidates remains to be seen.
Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who had reportedly been eyeing a run for the Senate seat, announced Monday that she is not, according to WSPA-TV in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Counting Graham Nordone, five Republicans have indicated they are in the race, according to WSPA-TV in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The others are Duke Buckner, who unsuccessfully challenged longtime Democratic powerbroker Rep. James Clyburn in the state’s 6th Congressional District in 2004; Rep. Rusell Fry (who in 2022 defeated then-Rep. Tom Rice, one of the Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021); Rep. Ralph Norman, an outspoken conservative; and businessman Mark Lynch, who had challenged Lindsey Graham in the June Republican primary, losing by about 57 percent 29 percent of almost 500,000 votes cast.
Republican voters will get their say on the candidates in a special primary election scheduled for Aug. 11.
If no candidate reaches 50 percent of the vote, the two top finishers will square off in a runoff primary scheduled for Aug. 25.
The eventual Republican nominee will run in the Nov. 3 general election against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews.
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