South Carolina Schedules August 11 Special Election to Replace Senator Lindsey Graham

Senator Lindsey Graham died July 11 from an aortic dissection, prompting South Carolina to schedule a special election for August 11. Graham had represented the state in the Senate since 2003 and had already won his Republican primary for reelection. The South Carolina Election Commission set early voting for August 5 to August 7 and set the absentee ballot application deadline for July 31.

Candidate filing runs from July 21 to July 28. A runoff, if needed, would occur August 25. Democratic candidate Dr. Annie Andrews, who won her primary in June, told Newsweek in a phone interview Friday morning that the events changed her opponent but not her priorities.

“It certainly has been quite a political shake-up, particularly on the Republican side because for me, the events of this weekend changed who I’m running against, but it didn't change who I'm running for,” she said. Andrews, a 45-year-old pediatrician and mother of three, previously lost a 2022 House race to Representative Nancy Mace by about 14 points.

She said Republicans at campaign events tell her the party has become too extreme and want it to return to the center-right.

She added that bipartisanship should be viewed positively. Andrews said her top priorities if elected include impeaching Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. , stopping Medicaid budget cuts, and funding the CDC and NIH.

She cited a recent measles outbreak with nearly 1,000 cases in South Carolina linked to vaccine refusal. As of Friday, only Mark Lynch, a Greenville-area businessman who received just under 29 percent in the earlier primary against Graham, had confirmed a Republican candidacy and pledged an additional $5 million. Representative Ralph Norman said he is interested but has not formally announced.