President Donald Trump is heading to South Carolina on Wednesday for the second time in two months in an attempt to rescue a Senate seat his party considered safe until recently – and some Republicans are furious they have to defend it at all.
Republican Sen. Darline Graham is in an unexpectedly close race with Democrat Annie Andrews in a state that hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1998, MS NOW reported, and the Cook Political Report moved the race Tuesday from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican" – the second downgrade in recent weeks.
“It’s political malpractice that we’re even having to spend money in the state,” one South Carolina GOP official told MS NOW. “That money is better used in other states, but we are here, and this is the cards that we have to play right now.”
The official didn't shy away from blaming the president's preferred candidate. “There’s no question that there’s a drag at the top of the ticket,” the official said, referring to Graham, who Trump endorsed over Rep. Ralph Norman in the GOP primary.
A Trafalgar Group survey this month found Graham ahead by just three points, 49 percent to 46 percent. The same Republican firm found GOP gubernatorial nominee Alan Wilson leading his Democratic opponent by 16 points.
Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, was appointed to the seat after his death at Trump’s urging. Her campaign hit trouble in an August debate, when she admitted she was “not that informed on national security.”
Since that debate, Republicans have spent more than $22.5 million on the race, compared with $17.1 million from Democrats, according to AdImpact. The Senate Leadership Fund recently added a last-minute $5 million.
Trump’s visit comes with an awkward twist. Earlier this week, he signed an executive order exempting Russia from sanctions in a bill Graham championed, and she had pointed to that law as her signature achievement.
“Personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia … because I don’t trust Putin, and I don’t trust Russia,” Graham said.
Trump has also gone after Andrews, using an anti-transgender slur against her on Truth Social. Andrews shrugged off the attack.
“I am a disciplined, hard-working candidate who is outhustling and out-fundraising my opponent,” she told WYFF. “That’s why national figures like the President are getting involved.”
For Trump, the stakes are personal. He pushed for Graham’s appointment, encouraged her to run and endorsed her.
“Essentially,” Trump said at a recent tele-rally, “I am on the ballot.”