Sen. Darline Graham, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, won the Republican nomination Tuesday for the South Carolina Senate seat left vacant by the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, The Associated Press projected.
Graham, 62, will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November in the race for a full six-year term. She is considered the heavy favorite in the Republican-leaning state, where Democrats have not won a US Senate election since 1998.
Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman advanced to Tuesday's runoff after placing first and second in the Aug. 11 Republican primary. Neither candidate received enough votes to capture the nomination outright.
Graham entered the race on July 20, shortly after Republican Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her to temporarily occupy her late brother's Senate seat. The appointment marked her first experience holding elected office.
Trump endorsed Graham soon after she joined the Senate. At the time, he called her a “spectacular person, and a true American Patriot" and said “that there would be nobody better to honor the legacy of her beloved brother."
Graham's decision to seek a full six-year term surprised some observers because she had never previously won elected office before being appointed to the Senate.
Before entering the Senate, Graham served as a commissioner on the South Carolina Commission for the Blind and spent much of her professional career advocating for people with disabilities.