Darline Graham Isn’t Scaring Off Rivals as Trump Hoped

One of the crosses Donald Trump has had to bear recently is a less-than-perfect record in endorsing Republican primary candidates. His candidates in high-profile gubernatorial nominating contests in Iowa and Georgia both lost to rivals who claimed to adore the 47th president, despite their manifest willingness to rebel against his wishes. Trump’s fury at his advisors for steering him wrong peaked in South Carolina, where his gubernatorial endorsee Pamela Evette was struggling in a GOP runoff against yet another more-MAGA-than-thou rival, Alan Wilson, leading Trump in a panic to endorse Wilson as well, guaranteeing Evette’s demise (she was absolutely obliterated in the runoff after losing the president’s exclusive backing).

And now, Trump’s having fresh endorsement obedience problems in the Palmetto State, where absolutely every Republican pledges allegiance to him incessantly. When Lindsey Graham died suddenly on July 11, the president and his buddy Governor Henry McMaster agreed quickly to appoint Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to the seat for the remainder of the late senator’s current term, which expires next January. Initially no one expected Nordone to run for the full term, over which a large number of South Carolina Republicans were all but publicly salivating. But that changed on July 17, when Trump endorsed the interim senator (who, tellingly, began identifying as Darline Graham, dropping her marital last name) for the GOP nomination in the August 11 special primary. She subsequently announced she was in the race for real.

But it turned out Graham’s Trump-blessed march to nearly seven years in the U.S. Senate (pretty good for someone who had never run for office) wasn’t a cakewalk after all. It was perhaps not so surprising that lame-duck congressman Ralph Norman (who gave up his U.S. House seat to run unsuccessfully for governor) jumped into the race before Trump’s endorsement, and then didn’t fold his tent. After all, what is Ralph supposed to do with his time? Moreover, as a House Freedom Caucus leader, Norman was used to defying Trump’s allies in the House in order to better glorify Trump.

Much more significant, however, was the announcement of candidacy by Norman’s colleague Russell Fry, as Politico reported:

South Carolina Rep. Russell Fry announced Monday he will enter the crowded Senate race to claim the Republican seat held by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham — setting up a potential challenge to Trump-endorsed Darline Graham.

Fry quickly emerged as a potential successor after Graham’s death. Trump hand-picked Fry to oust Rep. Tom Rice in his 2022 GOP primary after Rice voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Fry has since enjoyed close ties to Trump’s political orbit.

Unlike Norman, Fry’s no lame duck; he was renominated for his House seat in June and will appear on the November ballot in that capacity no matter what happens in the Senate special primary. Indeed, Norman allies in South Carolina are arguing that Fry is endangering a potentially tiny 2017 GOP House majority because he’d have to resign the seat in January to assume the Senate seat. But more to the point, Fry is disrespecting President Trump right now. His more-MAGA-than-the-official-MAGA-candidate posture isn’t unprecedented; it’s exactly what Iowa gubernatorial nominee Zach Lahn and Georgia gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson have claimed. But neither of those worthies was challenging a Trump endorsement so soon after it was issued.

Other candidates are already in the race (including, most predictably, Mark Lynch, the far-right candidate who ran a creditable second behind the late Lindsey Graham in June). Now that Norman and Fry have broken the seal, others might as well, such as Pamela Evette, who, like Norman, has time on her hands and has already won and lost a Trump endorsement this year. It’s a reminder that for all the celebrations of Lindsey Graham’s legacy in Washington and South Carolina since his death, he wasn’t wildly popular back home, particularly among the hardcore conservatives most loyal to Trump, who, unlike Trump, didn’t forgive the many nasty things he said about the president back in the day. The only much-mentioned candidate who is for sure not in the race is former congresswoman Nancy Mace, whose turbulent career cratered when she finished fifth in the gubernatorial primary.

Perhaps unfortunately for Darline Graham’s rivals, her brother’s legacy will cast a long shadow over the primary to replace him. Official memorial services will be held in Washington on July 28 (the day qualifying for the special Senate primary ends) and in South Carolina on July 29, just 13 days before voters vote. Polls will soon start popping up, and you have to wonder if Trump will again hedge his Palmetto State bets, particularly if his old buddy Russell Fry is doing well against his new favorite Darline. The contest could quite easily extend to an August 25 runoff if nobody wins a majority on August 11. The days and weeks ahead could be painful for White House political advisors, whose lives could take a turn for the worse if Trump flubs another endorsement and looks like a loser.