Nothing says "clean, open primary" quite like the appointed placeholder deciding she actually likes the chair and would prefer to keep it. Darline Graham Nordone, who was tapped by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to fill the late Lindsey Graham's Senate seat after his sudden passing, went on Sean Hannity's show Monday night and made it official.
"So you're inclined to get in? Or have you even made a final decision?" Hannity asked. "I've made a decision — I'm in," Nordone declared, presumably while several South Carolina Republicans spit out their sweet tea.
As Conservative Brief reported, the MAGA wing of the party is not exactly rolling out the welcome mat. Sean Davis, CEO of The Federalist, offered a succinct review on X: "Hard pass. Birthright senatorship is idiotic." Short, sweet, and the kind of thing you say when you want to make sure nobody misunderstands your position.
Former Rep. Bob Good of Virginia went even further, writing: "Trump continues to fill the Swamp with the worst congressional creatures, including his predictable endorsement of Darline Graham. Are there worse criteria than 1) family name, and 2) pledged unconditional and unconstitutional allegiance and obedience to the president?" For context, Good is a Republican saying this about a Republican president, which tells you how spicy this family dinner is getting.
Other voices piled on. One X user wrote, "I'm tired of nepotism. I don't want Darline Graham. Give us a real conservative." Another pushed for Rep. Ralph Norman as the obvious choice, citing his early support for the SAVE Act. And a South Carolina activist pointed out that voters were explicitly told Nordone would not be a candidate, noting that even SC GOP Chairman Drew McKissick publicly said as much.
So the promise was: temporary seat warmer. The reality is: surprise, she is running for the whole thing with Trump's backing. You can understand why some folks feel like they got the old bait and switch.
Lindsey Graham passed away on July 11 after what his office described as a "brief and sudden illness" following a trip to Ukraine. The preliminary findings from the D.C. medical examiner identified the cause of death as "aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease," which is a tear in the inner wall of the aorta. The death certificate remains pending until toxicological and microscopic testing are finalized.
Jeffery W. Carroll, chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, and Francisco J. Diaz, the chief medical examiner for the District of Columbia, confirmed the preliminary examination findings in a joint statement and said the death certificate will be amended once the investigation concludes.
The political fallout, however, is not waiting for any final reports. South Carolina's Senate race is shaping up to be a full contact sport, and the ref just left the building.
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