Democratic challenger Annie Andrews has defeated appointed GOP Sen. Darlene Graham to win a six-year term representing South Carolina in the Senate, according to the Fox News Decision Desk. Andrews' victory marks a significant upset in the ruby-red state and makes her the first Democrat in nearly three decades to win a Senate election in South Carolina.
Despite two late campaign stops by President Donald Trump to support Graham, the Republican candidate was unable to secure victory. Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, was appointed to the Senate earlier in the year. Trump had endorsed Graham, who won a special Republican primary to succeed her brother.
During the general election campaign, Graham focused on her support for Trump's agenda, continuing her brother's work in the Senate, and addressing the cost of living. She stated, "I know how it feels to live paycheck to paycheck. There's been many years in my life that I've lived paycheck to paycheck like a lot of South Carolinians. So I know they're feeling it at the gas pumps."
Andrews, a pediatrician and political outsider, centered her campaign on affordability and healthcare costs, drawing on her experience working with families. She stated in a recent interview, "I never in a million years thought I would be running for federal office, let alone a US Senate seat, but I have 20 years of experience working inside America's broken healthcare system, coming face to face with all of Washington's failures in my hospital exam rooms."
Outside groups from both parties invested resources in the race as it became increasingly competitive in the final weeks. Some nonpartisan political handicappers had shifted the contest toward the Democrats before Trump's rally for Graham.