GOP backlash: Republican 'dogfight' erupts over Trump’s hand in Senate race

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference on the day of a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

Following the death of Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), his sister Darlene was appointed to serve in his place temporarily, drawing the support of President Donald Trump when she announced her intention to run for a full term. But according to new reporting from the Washington Post, “rather than embracing the president’s endorsed candidate in a whirlwind election less than two weeks away, influential conservative activists in South Carolina say they’re not swayed.”

While Trump likes to assert the power of his endorsements, South Carolina conservatives have already rejected one of his picks this year during the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary in June. Now he could face a repeat “as his supporters question whether the president is acting with their top priorities in mind … Many conservative activists say they aren’t sold on Graham because of her lack of a political record, besides her public support for her brother.”

“People are going to be independently minded in this, and I don’t think that Trump is the end all, be all that he used to be,” said CJ Westfall, chairman of the Dorchester County Republican Party. Darlene Graham’s competition is steep. So far, a dozen candidates have filed to run in the August 11 primary, including a former governor and two conservative House representatives. The primary is expected to result in a runoff, which Westfall noted “typically bring out the hard core of the hard core.”

According to the Post, “more than a dozen South Carolina Republican operatives and activists described three issues working against Graham: She had never held office and is little-known across the state, despite her brother’s high profile. Her association with her brother could have downsides in a primary; Lindsey Graham had struggled to please many in Trump’s MAGA-aligned base in recent years because of his hawkishness and willingness to work with Democrats, and he had spent $20 million to fend off a primary challenge this year from the right. And some are simply irked that Trump wants to hand off a coveted six-year term to someone based on family ties, rather than a proven conservative record.”

“Darline is really in for a dogfight,” said one Republican official working on Senate races.

Her main rivals are Representatives Ralph Norman and Russell Fry, who both boast solid conservative bona fides and broad endorsement coalitions: “Norman has secured the endorsements of conservative Republican Sens. Rick Scott (Florida) and Mike Lee (Utah), along with upstate sheriffs, while Fry has the backing of 40 Republican state legislators … While Graham has received endorsements from several Republican Senate colleagues, she has yet to secure the public backing of two key Senate leaders — Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee,” and the Senate GOP’s campaign operation, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

Barring these endorsements, she is counting on the power of Trump’s backing. But in recent months, a number of his endorsed candidates have lost high-profile elections — a trend South Carolina Republicans have noticed.

“Trump’s endorsements haven’t always been correct in the voters’ eyes,” said Mark Lynch, Graham’s main primary challenger earlier this year, who is again running to succeed him. “We’re not going to have a coronation in this state and elect Darline as the queen, underneath the king, Lindsey.”

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