Annie Andrews defeats Darline Graham in South Carolina Senate race

A Democrat is also poised to flip the 1st Congressional District and another may force a recount in the 2nd Congressional District.CHARLESTON, S.C. (CN) — Democrat Annie Andrews ousted Republican Darline Graham from the U.S. Senate in a stunning victory that echoed a national Democratic rout in Tuesday’s midterm elections.The Charleston pediatrician secured about 51% of the vote, or a little more than 1 million votes, to Graham’s 47%, or about 950,000 votes.A Democrat was poised to win the 1st Congressional District, a seat held by Republican incumbent U.S. Representative Nancy Mace, and another may force a recount in the 2nd Congressional District.A Democratic senator in South Carolina seemed impossible in the spring, when Andrews won the primary and prepared to face off against longtime incumbent Lindsey Graham. But the senator’s sudden death in July from a heart condition upended the race.President Donald Trump appointed Graham to finish her brother’s term and endorsed her in the special primary, which she won in a runoff against U.S. Representative Ralph Norman.But Graham’s inexperience was displayed during the sole debate in the special primary, when she said during a question about Taiwan that she was “not that informed on national security.”Norman, a Republican, expressed displeasure with Trump’s decision to endorse Graham in the race and pointedly said in a radio interview he would not campaign for her. That decision may have hurt Graham’s popularity upstate, where the congressman enjoys significant support.The state’s most populous county, Greenville, favored Trump by 22% in the 2024 presidential race. On Tuesday, the county went for Andrews by 2%. Norman’s home county, York, went for Trump by 19% in 2024. On Tuesday, Andrews won by 3%.A Democrat has not been elected to the Senate in South Carolina since Ernest “Fritz” Hollings in 1998.In a victory speech Tuesday night, Andrews told supporters she joined the race after witnessing how decisions in Washington, D.C. impacted the lives of children and families she treated as a pediatrician.She said she would fight to ensure families could afford to fill up their gas tanks, put food on the table and treat their children without worrying about going broke. She added she would ensure the state’s decisions were made by its residents — “not the billionaires and data center companies in Washington, D.C.”Darline Graham expressed gratitude to Trump while acknowledging conservatives had “work to do” in light of the midterm results.In the 1st Congressional District, Democrat Nancy Lacore, a retired Navy vice admiral, led her opponent, Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt, by about 1% with all precincts reporting. South Carolina law requires an automatic recount when the margin of victory is less than 1% of the vote.Lacore declared victory Tuesday night but acknowledged the possibility of a recount.In the 2nd Congressional District race, Democrat Zyon Khalifa trailed longtime Republican incumbent Joe Wilson by slightly more than 1% with all precincts reporting. The race was unexpectedly competitive as Wilson is seeking his 14th term representing the district. At 25 years old, Khalifa would be the youngest nominee for a congressional seat in South Carolina history if he won.Dave Woodard, a veteran GOP political strategist and former campaign adviser for Lindsey Graham, expressed shock at Tuesday’s results.He suggested Tuesday’s results suggested that the politics of personality had a limit, pointing to the Democratic candidates that supported former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.“If you go back in history, there were lots of Democrats that ran in the ’30s because they wanted to go to Washington and help FDR — and that was their only campaign,” he said. “Well, that did well for three cycles, but after that, it wasn’t useful.”Fundamentally, Democrats ran more effective candidates and campaigns, Woodard said.“Andrews didn’t run as a Democrat,” Woodard said. “She ran as a doctor.”Democrats did not fare as well at the state level. Republican South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson bested Democratic State Representative Jermaine Johnson in the governor’s race. Wilson won 51% of the vote to Johnson’s 47%.Republicans also won the races for secretary of state, state treasurer and attorney general.South Carolinians cast 2 million ballots in Tuesday’s election. By comparison, about 1.7 million ballots were cast in the 2022 midterm.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads