Trump wanted a Lindsey Graham tribute. South Carolina Republicans want a choice
Trump wanted a Lindsey Graham tribute. South Carolina Republicans want a choice
By Nolan D. McCaskill
WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s bid to install Lindsey Graham’s sister as South Carolina’s next senator has met unexpected resistance from Republican voters and rivals, setting up a crowded primary that will test the limits of Trump’s political influence in one of his strongest states.
After Senator Lindsey Graham died on July 11 at age 71 from a heart ailment, Governor Henry McMaster appointed his sister, Darline Graham, to serve the remainder of his term, which expires in January.
Trump called the appointment a “fabulous tribute” and urged voters to elect her to a full six-year term in the August 11 special election, promising his “Complete and Total Endorsement.”
Some Republicans say Darline Graham is a fitting caretaker for her brother’s seat but oppose Trump’s push to elect her to a full term, arguing voters should choose from a field that remains crowded despite the president’s endorsement.
U.S. Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican who ran unsuccessfully for governor, said South Carolina’s conservative voters were upset by the president’s endorsement.
“His candidate lost in the governor’s race, and his candidate’s going to lose in the Senate race,” said Mace, who is supporting U.S. Representative Ralph Norman. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put in a tried and true conservative.”
The president’s endorsement “gets you into a runoff,” she said, “but it doesn’t get you to win. It’s not enough to win a race anymore.”
The runoff between the top two vote-getters will be on August 25 if no single candidate wins a majority.
DONORS QUESTION CREDENTIALS
Supporters say the most popular politicians in the state — including Trump and Senator Tim Scott — have spoken favorably of Darline Graham, who is leading in opinion polls.
In interviews, however, Republican donors said Darline Graham has hidden behind the grieving process and her brother’s surname, noting how little she has engaged with reporters and how quickly references to her full name — Darline Graham Nordone — have disappeared since she was sworn in. They also say she lacks the credentials to merit serving a full term.
Graham’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but she told Sean Hannity of Fox News that being a politician was not something she ever wanted.
“That was Lindsey’s life, not mine,” she said. “But when they asked, it didn’t take me long. … I knew that I had to step up. I had to carry on his legacy.”
Graham will be one of five candidates at a debate on Monday night.
NINE CANDIDATES VIE FOR NOMINATION
At least nine candidates are seeking the Republican nomination, including two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, a former governor and a wealthy businessman who ran against Lindsey Graham in the original primary. A 10th candidate has challenged whether he can appear on the ballot.
A former aide to Lindsey Graham said rival candidates will tear into one another to emerge as the alternative to Graham’s sister in a runoff.
The former aide rejected criticism that Darline Graham has run a low-profile campaign and avoided public scrutiny, noting how quickly Lindsey Graham’s team had to organize funerals in Washington and South Carolina for an international figure while transitioning her from private citizen to senator.
“People will be really impressed when they learn more and see more of her,” the former aide said.
Mark Lynch, a self-funding Republican outsider who got 134,000 primary votes in his longshot Senate bid, said voters are concerned that Darline Graham isn’t qualified to represent the state because she has no record.
Lynch, Mace and others also disputed whether she’s eligible to run, citing a state party rule requiring that candidates vote in at least two of the previous three statewide Republican primaries.
“People are furious” about “the coronation of Darline Graham,” Lynch said. “It’s OK that they picked her to be the interim senator until January but not to run for office.”
Recent polls show Graham leading by a double-digit margin, with Norman, U.S. Representative Russell Fry and former Governor Mark Sanford competing for the second runoff spot.
Allies of Norman, who ran unsuccessfully for governor, say he is best positioned to win the Republican nomination in a runoff against Darline Graham because he has a long conservative legislative record. Norman’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
A campaign consultant for Fry said voters see the 41-year-old as a generational change candidate who could shake things up in the Senate. Fry is a Trump ally who is considered a rising star.
(Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill. Editing by Michael Learmonth and Howard Goller)
People guilty of rape, serious child sex and grooming offences will be excluded from an early release scheme in England and Wales – those guilty of manslaughter may still be eligible.
Photos newly released by Myanmar’s military government show Suu Kyi meeting with an ICRC official.
South Korea’s summer heat has killed 16 people so far this year, the interior ministry said Tuesday, as the nation swelters in a wave of searing weather.Between May 15 and and August 2 a total of 2,025 people have suffered heat-related illnesses, of which 16 people have died, a ministry statement said.
US Democrats vote Tuesday in their marquee primary in Michigan, choosing between a left-wing insurgent and an establishment-backed congresswoman in a contest that has become a proxy war over Israel, electability and the future of the national party.Democrats must defend Michigan while gaining four Republican-held seats to control the upper chamber, making the primary more than an ideological exercise in a state that has swung between the two parties in recent national elections.
An “ongoing incident” is likely to see the M67 in Tamside remain shut for most of the day.
Ursula von der Leyen has called for action ahead of an urgent EU interior ministers meeting to discuss the issue.
Sheffield student Emily was attacked by a man who had recently been let out early from prison.
Suffolk County Council says “declaring a climate emergency does not stop a wildfire from starting”.
Rapists and child sex offenders will be barred from the scheme, which will restart in October, the government says.
India has the biggest youth population in the world but few are able to find good jobs despite rising education levels.
A British maritime monitoring agency said a cargo ship reported being hit by a projectile overnight off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, while the United States and Iran made opposing claims about whether they were holding talks. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said the two sides are resuming talks to wind down the war.
President Trump, who called Tehran “unbelievably duplicitous,” said the talks are the “last chance” for Iran to forge a deal and avoid an escalation.
Dr Nancy Irwin was a bat scientist when a life-threatening accident in Gabon put her career on hold.
US authorities arrested a man Monday on suspicion of arson in connection with the biggest of three fires burning around the northwestern city of Spokane, as firefighters raced to contain flames that have displaced tens of thousands.Wildfires supercharged by drought and intense heat have torn through the city in Washington state, burning thousands of acres and reducing hundreds of buildings to cinders while anxious families await news on when they can return.
The forces use the base for specialist training, which they say “cannot be transferred” elsewhere.
Met Office records indicate England and Wales are likely to have had their driest July since records began 190 years ago.
The IOPC says a force should re-examine rejected complaints made by Scott Gough’s partner.
The £625,000 project comes ahead of plans for a wider revamp of the building.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a small plane on a training flight that made an emergency landing on a Florida interstate Monday morning, narrowly missing highway signs and vehicles.
A Salvadoran man being held at a controversial immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, has died, federal officials said Monday, marking the latest death of an immigrant in ICE custody.
Powered by WPeMatico