One of These Four Republicans Is Most Likely To Fill Lindsey Graham’s Senate Seat

With the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, ambitious South Carolina conservatives are already angling for potential candidacies to succeed him this fall. First, though, South Carolina’s governor, Henry McMaster, will first have to name a temporary replacement. Graham’s death marks one of nine times this century that a sitting U.S. senator has died while in office, with Graham’s arguably the most shocking since Senator Paul Wellstone’s death in 2002 when he and his wife were killed in a plane crash. Graham returned to Washington from a trip abroad on Saturday and spoke to President Trump by phone just hours before he died from what is believed to be cardiac arrest. This week, Mr. McMaster is expected to name a replacement to fill Graham’s seat for the remainder of this term, which ends on January 3, 2027. If Mr. McMaster’s appointee chooses to run for a full term in the fall, then he or she must first compete in a special August primary to win the GOP nomination. Graham won the Republican primary outright last month, avoiding a bitter runoff with a more right-wing opponent. Whether or not that appointee runs, Republican voters will go to the polls on August 11 to choose a new nominee. The favored candidate to replace Graham is likely Lieutenant Governor Pam Evette, who has a deep bench of support in South Carolina, having recently run for governor. Mr. McMaster endorsed Ms. Evette in the GOP gubernatorial primary in June, though she ended up losing to the state’s attorney general, Alan Wilson. Ms. Evette at the age of 58 could serve in the Senate for decades should she choose to run for a full term and accrue the power that comes with seniority, as Graham did. If Ms. Evette is appointed, it is likely that she would face opposition in the GOP primary which is due to be held next month. Congressman Ralph Norman — a hardline conservative Freedom Caucus member and fellow failed gubernatorial candidate — said on Sunday that he will make an announcement this week about his political future. Mr. Norman told Bloomberg News that he will announce his intention to either run for the Senate seat or not on Tuesday.A third failed candidate for governor, Congresswoman Nancy Mace, plans to field a poll this week for a possible Senate run. She told Fox News on Sunday that she would “be an idiot” if she did not consider such a move. She finished in a distant fifth in the Republican primary for governor last month, leading many to believe that she does not have the base of support needed to mount a comeback campaign. Choosing a sitting statewide official or member of Congress to fill a Senate vacancy is standard for most governors. Of the 13 senators appointed to their respective offices in the last decade, nine have either been a statewide elected official or a member of Congress at the time of their appointment. Mr. McMaster could take an unusual step this week and appoint a sitting member of the president’s cabinet. According to a report from Politico, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is from South Carolina, began receiving calls on Sunday to be the next senator from the state, either via appointment or by running in next month’s primary election.Mr. Trump has so far not weighed in on who should be the next senator from South Carolina, though he told “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he has someone in mind. Ahead of the first round of voting in the GOP gubernatorial primary, Mr. Trump endorsed Ms. Evette for governor. He then issued a dual endorsement for her and Mr. Wilson in the runoff election. “I have somebody that I think would be great, but I don’t want to say it now because it’s just, you know, it’s too soon with Lindsey,” Mr. Trump told “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “I don’t want to even talk about anybody, but I do have somebody that I think is really good.”

One of These Four Republicans Is Most Likely To Fill Lindsey Graham’s Senate Seat

One of These Four Republicans Is Most Likely To Fill Lindsey Graham’s Senate Seat

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