Former President Donald Trump has publicly urged Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, to run for a full term in the U.S. Senate. Nordone recently stepped into the interim Senate seat for South Carolina, which was left vacant by her brother.
In a statement released this week, Trump announced he had personally asked Nordone to enter the Republican special primary. He described her as "a spectacular person" and "a true American patriot." Trump declared his "complete and total endorsement" should she decide to pursue the seat permanently, asserting she would be "nobody better" to honor her brother's legacy.
Trump's endorsement of Nordone appears to preemptively address the ambitions of other South Carolina Republicans seeking the Senate seat, including outgoing Congresswoman Nancy Mace and Congressman Russel Fry.