Annie Andrews becomes first Democrat in decades to win South Carolina Senate seat

Annie Andrews won the U.S. Senate race in South Carolina on Tuesday, defeating incumbent Darline Graham. Andrews, a pediatrician, is the first woman elected to represent the state in the Senate. She is also the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the region since Fritz Hollings left office in 2005.

Graham had served as interim senator since the death of her brother, Lindsey Graham, earlier this year. Before her appointment, she won a contested special primary against better-known Republicans. President Donald Trump endorsed and campaigned for her. However, Andrews benefited from national dissatisfaction with the Republican Party and the president.

Andrews began her campaign more than a year ago. She won her Democratic primary outright before Lindsey Graham died. His death forced her to adjust her general election strategy. She initially planned to challenge the incumbent but later shifted focus to the broader Republican field. After the GOP runoff, she centered her campaign on defeating Darline Graham.

The two candidates held one debate last month. They discussed the economy, the war with Iran, and artificial intelligence. Much of the debate focused on their arguments that the other was unqualified for the seat. Andrews had previously challenged Representative Nancy Mace in 2022. Before this Senate run, she had never held elected office or campaigned statewide.

A New York Times and Siena poll conducted in October showed the race was close. Democrats used this data and criticism of Graham’s inexperience to argue the contest was more competitive than past cycles. In 2020, polls also suggested a tight race, but Lindsey Graham won by a 10 percentage point margin. That election was the most expensive in state history, with hundreds of millions of dollars spent.

Voters in South Carolina have not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1998. Republicans have held both state Senate seats since 2005. Jim Clyburn is the only Democrat currently representing the state in the U.S. House.

Brent Chaplin, a voter in Fort Mill, said he had always supported GOP candidates but chose Andrews. He hoped her victory would serve as a wake-up call for Republicans to select better candidates.