Republican Senator Darline Graham hit back at Democratic challenger Annie Andrews during a heated exchange over Graham’s last name in Sunday night’s South Carolina U.S. Senate debate, accusing her opponent of making a personal attack that invoked a painful part of her childhood.
The exchange began after Andrews rejected Graham’s efforts to portray her as a socialist, tying her to “Bernie Ocasio Mamdani,” saying her name was simply “Annie Andrews” before adding: “There shouldn't be any confusion about that because unlike my opponent, I haven't changed my name recently.”
Graham immediately pushed back, saying Graham had always been her legal name and explaining that she kept it after losing her parents as a child because it helped her feel connected to them. The late Senator Lindsey Graham’s sister said she used her married name, “Nordone,” on a social media account so other parents would recognize her.
“There she goes, insulting me. Personal insults about my name again,” Graham said. “My legal name is Graham and has always been Graham.”
She added: “So thank you for bringing up a horrible tragic memory for me.”
The clash came during a closely watched debate between Graham, Andrews and Libertarian candidate Kasie Whitener as the candidates compete for a Senate seat Republicans have dominated for decades. Sunday’s event was the only debate to which both Graham and Andrews had publicly committed ahead of the November 3 election.
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Annie Andrews Pushes Back on Socialist Label
Andrews’ remark about Graham’s name came as the Democrat sought to distance herself from the progressive wing of her party and reject her opponent’s characterization of her politics.
“I told you my opponent was going to call me a socialist. And there she's done it again,” Andrews said during the debate.
She went on to describe herself as a working mother and pediatrician who was raised in a Republican household, while highlighting positions that place her at odds with some Democrats. Andrews said she supports the Second Amendment, favors a secure border and believes undocumented immigrants who break the law should be deported.
The Democrat then sought to turn the argument back on Graham, accusing her of being too closely aligned with the White House.
“The real difference between me and Senator Graham is that I will stand up to my own party and I will always put South Carolina first,” Andrews said.
Graham was appointed by Republican Governor Henry McMaster following the death of her brother, longtime Senator Graham, in July. She subsequently won the Republican nomination after defeating Representative Ralph Norman in an August runoff with the backing of President Donald Trump.
The contest has become significantly more competitive than Republicans initially expected.
Sabato’s Crystal Ball recently shifted the race from Safe Republican to Likely Republican, while recent polling has shown a much closer contest than South Carolina’s recent voting history might suggest. Trump carried the state by 18 percentage points in 2024.
A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted October 5-8 showed Graham leading Andrews by 4 points, 49 percent to 45 percent, among 837 likely voters. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points. An earlier Rasmussen poll had put Graham 5 points ahead.
Other September polling suggested an even narrower contest. The tightening race has attracted attention because South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since Fritz Hollings, who left office in 2005.
Still, Democrats have been overestimated by South Carolina polling before. In 2020, surveys suggested Graham faced a highly competitive challenge from Democrat Jaime Harrison, but the Republican ultimately won by more than 10 percentage points.
Republicans Pour Millions into Graham Race
National Republicans are taking steps to shore up Graham in the final weeks of the campaign.
The Senate Leadership Fund, the leading Republican super PAC involved in Senate races, plans to spend $5 million in South Carolina supporting Graham. A person familiar with the plans described the investment to the Associated Press as an “insurance policy” and said Republicans remained confident they would retain the seat.
Trump, who helped Graham during the Republican primary, is also tentatively expected to campaign in South Carolina ahead of Election Day.
Andrews, meanwhile, has sought to present herself as a more moderate Democrat. In addition to the positions she highlighted during Sunday’s debate, she recently said she does not support transgender women competing in women’s sports or gender-transition surgery for minors.
The candidates now enter the final stretch with early voting beginning October 19 and Election Day on November 3. Sunday’s increasingly personal confrontation offered voters a direct look at the contrast between them as what was once expected to be a safely Republican race draws greater national attention.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.