FLORENCE, S.C. — Few people have anything bad to say about Darline Graham, who was catapulted from obscurity last month when she was appointed to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham in the U.S. Senate.
“I think Darline’s wonderful,” said Kathy Bustos of Mount Pleasant after attending a Republican forum recently.
But that doesn’t mean Bustos wants to vote for her in the state’s special primary Tuesday.
“I think it’s a very nice gesture for her to have the rest of his term to complete, but I’m not sure that she’s really qualified or ready to be elected to the Senate,” she said.
It’s a common sentiment among Republican voters pondering an unexpected decision about replacing Lindsey Graham, who was nominated for a fifth term before he died last month from a tear in his aorta. Darline Graham was often by his side throughout his career, but she remains largely unknown in South Carolina’s clubby political circles.
President Trump has endorsed her, and she’s backed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is running television advertising to support her candidacy.
However, Graham has been largely absent from the campaign trail, spending most of her time in Washington as an interim senator. Her appointment to the role, instead of giving her a leg up over the competition, may ultimately hold her back by preventing her from getting to know voters during a weeks-long sprint to Tuesday.
A crowded field
She is up against several well-known Republicans, including Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, as well as former Gov. Mark Sanford. The crowded field makes a runoff more likely, and it would be held Aug. 25.
All of them spoke at a Friday meeting of the Fourth District Republican Club in Greenville, but Graham sent a video message, saying she was “in Washington working hard for you.” She promised to be “a great friend and ally” to Trump and that she wanted to “earn your vote.”
And at a candidates event in Florence on Saturday, where Graham spoke, some of her supporters said they backed the interim senator’s decision to stay in Washington, even if it meant not campaigning.
“She committed to not missing votes or not being there to push forward with those bills,” said Teresa Castrinos, who made the hours-long drive from Bluffton to see Graham. “I feel like she’s putting South Carolina first. She’s wanting to fulfill her time as a senator right now, so I really admire her for that.”
A low profile
While Lindsey Graham was single and well-known around the world, his sister lived a relatively quiet life with her husband and daughters in Lexington, S.C. She spent years in state government, working with people with disabilities and as an agency head of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind.
Before participating in Saturday’s event in Florence, her only public campaign event had been a candidates forum in Lexington. Charles Brentnell of Greenville County, who said he was still considering whom to vote for, liked her decision to stay in Washington when the Senate was in session.
“Let’s keep the Senate at the Senate instead of taking a month off for no good reason,” he said.
Appearing alongside other contenders Saturday, Graham apologized for reading from notes from a lectern, pointing to the Senate votes that kept her in Washington until just hours before she headed to meet voters in South Carolina.
“Yes, I have some notes. You know why? Because I haven’t slept in two days, so I’m going to keep my thoughts straight,” Graham said, adding that she opposed Senate recess but lost out to others who wanted to end votes and go home. “I wanted to stay there, and I wanted to get things done.”
Graham also participated in one of two televised debates, where she backed Trump’s plan to change filibuster rules to make it easier to pass the president’s bill for strict voter ID requirements.
While other candidates came to speak to the media gathered afterward, Graham skipped the session and merely gave a thumbs-up outside when asked how she felt the debate had gone.
In contrast to her loquacious late brother, Graham has not spoken with reporters in Capitol Hill hallways or fielded questions on the stump.
She’s spoken at length to Fox News personalities Sean Hannity and Trey Gowdy, both of whom eulogized Lindsey Graham at memorial services last month, and granted two interviews to local news outlets.
On Saturday, in her first gaggle with reporters, Graham addressed some of voters’ concerns, reiterating her commitment to do Senate work when the chamber is in session.
“I feel like my job is to be in D.C. working for everyone right now. I hate that I can’t be here. I want to be here,” she said. “That’s why I left and didn’t sleep at all last night, so I could attend today’s event.”
As to the skepticism in sending her to Washington for six years, Graham cited her state government experience, plus the last several weeks she’s had serving as interim senator.
“Trust me, I have learned a lot already, so I think I have experience,” she said.
A second debate took place while Graham was in Washington on Tuesday, a date her campaign pointed out had been scheduled despite the senator’s conflict.
Gigi Bray of Charleston said the idea of Darline Graham serving in the interim makes sense, but electing her to a full term does not.
“I think it’s a great honor for her to hold her brother’s spot till November, but it’s time for a change,” said Bray, who backs Sanford. “I don’t think she has a lot of government experience, and I think right now, with the state of our country, I think it’s very important that somebody has experience.”
Kinnard writes for the Associated Press.
