Senator Darline Graham (R-SC) was appointed to fulfill the balance of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) term, and she has also put her hat in the ring to run for the full six-year term. Unlike her brother, Graham feels no need to play cat-and-mouse with the press, or at this point, engage with them outside of controlled environments.
Darline Graham is still grieving; but more to the point, with the recent knives out since Graham announced her candidacy to run for the full Senate seat, can anyone really blame her for wanting her press access controlled?
Interim Sen. Darline Graham Nordone, who we now know *asked* to run for US Senate, files while surrounded by a security detail and ignoring local media.
— SCFreedomFirst (@SCFreedomFirst) July 24, 2026
Norman and Fry seemed friendly and engaged—Nordone says she wants to run for the full term, but still takes no questions from… https://t.co/w20VVYRzBa
Interim Sen. Darline Graham Nordone, who we now know *asked* to run for US Senate, files while surrounded by a security detail and ignoring local media.
Norman and Fry seemed friendly and engaged—Nordone says she wants to run for the full term, but still takes no questions from local media after filing.
Would they like some cheese with that whine?
In the weeks since Ms. Graham came to Washington to fill her brother’s seat and then quickly said she would run to succeed him, she has shied away from the media attention that Mr. Graham so often relished. That has left many unanswered questions about the views and positions of a woman who had never held public office.
Where Lindsey was loquacious and often pontificated on the news of the day, Darline has rarely addressed the reporters who ask her questions at the Capitol. She has spoken little in committee hearings, and has taken part in few interviews.
Ms. Graham’s relative silence is particularly striking given her decision to run for Mr. Graham’s seat, one she made just days after being sworn in on July 14. Her decision to run has intensified scrutiny of her statements and has put her in a different light than had she only been a caretaker of the seat.
Whether we like it or not, it's her right to forge her own relationships with the press, or leave press relations completely up to her staff. She would not be the first elected official to do so. Graham does not appear to want to replace her brother, but in her choice to fill his shoes for the remainder of his term, she is working to fulfill some of his legislation and policy points. It seems as though some in the legacy media want Graham to mimic her brother's open access, and Graham is not choosing to comply.
Graham will quickly have to forge her own path if she expects to win a full term, and the Tuesday, Aug. 11 South Carolina U.S. Senate special primary will establish that timeline. The fact that her brother was such a larger-than-life figure makes blazing this trail even more challenging, but hopefully Graham is listening, taking notes, and choosing how, what, and when she wishes to communicate.
Graham has been communicating clearly on what she stands for in forums and debates. In Monday's South Carolina Senate candidate debate, Graham had no problem articulating that she supports removing the filibuster in order to pass the SAVE America Act:
If the filibuster is the only thing standing in the way of passing the SAVE America Act, then I'm a YES vote to end it.
— Darline Graham (@DarlineGrahamSC) August 3, 2026
There's too much at stake. Democrats refuse to protect our elections or our children from the transgender agenda.
It's time to get this done for President… pic.twitter.com/ToXK1n381W
If the filibuster is the only thing standing in the way of passing the SAVE America Act, then I'm a YES vote to end it.
There's too much at stake. Democrats refuse to protect our elections or our children from the transgender agenda.
It's time to get this done for President Trump.
Saturday morning, Graham voted against the Senate tucking tail and running away to August recess without even bringing the SAVE Act to the floor:
President Trump is right. The Senate needs to keep working until we get the SAVE America Act done.
— Darline Graham (@DarlineGrahamSC) August 8, 2026
Just a few moments ago, I opposed the Senate leaving town for a month. While those in favor of leaving won the vote, I won’t stop fighting until we get this important bill signed… https://t.co/OfFJTmGAnw
President Trump is right. The Senate needs to keep working until we get the SAVE America Act done.
Just a few moments ago, I opposed the Senate leaving town for a month. While those in favor of leaving won the vote, I won’t stop fighting until we get this important bill signed into law.
There is simply too much at stake.
And Graham has stood 10 toes down in her stiletto heels on keeping biological men out of women's sports.
Our daughters will be the ones who benefit from those willing to stand up for common sense. As the mother of a volleyball player who traveled with my daughter and her team throughout South Carolina and the southeast, I know how dangerous it is to have boys playing in girls’… pic.twitter.com/xokPQmyEXN
— Darline Graham (@DarlineGrahamSC) July 30, 2026
Our daughters will be the ones who benefit from those willing to stand up for common sense. As the mother of a volleyball player who traveled with my daughter and her team throughout South Carolina and the southeast, I know how dangerous it is to have boys playing in girls’ sports. I also know how hard these young women practice to improve their game.
I am glad to add my name to these important bills. I will not sit back and allow biological men to participate in women’s sports. Too many female athletes have been subjected to unsafe conditions and lost out on their right to fair play.
Here’s an overview of the bills I’m backing to protect women’s and girls’ sports.
However, Graham is currently avoiding the drive-by, flash-in-the-pan questioning and press scrums, and the local and legacy press resents this. That type of on-the-fly response politicians like her late brother did, and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), or Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) do, takes a certain amount of confidence, skill, and ability. Maybe Ms. Graham knows she doesn't have it... yet. I'm willing to give Graham the benefit of the doubt that she is still finding her footing and her own voice. What the legacy media seems to be demanding is that she be a carbon copy of her brother.
Sen. Darline Graham Nordone @DarlineGrahamSC, who is running for a full 6-year term, is still not taking questions on Capitol Hill, her staff says. In this video, she declined to respond to a filibuster question. Sen. @TedCruz described his position on the filibuster pic.twitter.com/Ss5elfAvim
— Nicholas A Ballasy (@NicholasBallasy) August 2, 2026
Graham also highlights the pure laziness of the legacy media. Articles and quality quotes are often gained through listening, legwork, and engaging with a subject beyond the ambush style of the Capitol. From the coverage I read from a majority of outlets, they rely heavily on those on-the-fly quotes and people "closely related to" in order to fill out copy, rather than cultivating direct access and doing the necessary research.
New: Sen. Darline Graham's bid to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham is facing increasing skepticism in Washington as Republicans grow concerned that she won't be able to clinch a majority of the vote to avert a runoff.
— Emily Jacobs (@emilyfjacobs) August 4, 2026
The uncertainty has caused some to worry about Graham…
New: Sen. Darline Graham's bid to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham is facing increasing skepticism in Washington as Republicans grow concerned that she won't be able to clinch a majority of the vote to avert a runoff.
The uncertainty has caused some to worry about Graham entering a competitive election contest, which will require her to develop a full policy platform and hit the campaign trail as she mourns her brother’s death.
One GOP senator to @jewishinsider: "If they get to a runoff, at that point, it is a whole new ball game and she’s no longer a grieving sister. She becomes a semi-incumbent obstacle to whoever wants to win."
Toning down the whines and avoiding writing hit pieces like the above also helps.
The South Carolina U.S. Senate primary is next Tuesday. If polling is any indication on how the electorate is leaning, Graham is still sitting pretty at the top, despite the caterwauling of the legacy media, her detractors, and candidates vying for the coveted seat. If Graham pulls it out and wins this primary, that will further cement her ability to make her own terms on how she chooses to handle the legacy media.
🚨Polling News: Darline Graham leads the South Carolina Senate Republican Primary
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) August 8, 2026
🟣 Darline Graham 33.1%
🔴 Ralph Norman 20.4%
🟢 Russell Fry 19.4%
🟠 Mark Sanford 17.4%
🟡 Mark Lynch 8.0%
🔵 Others 1.5%
Pollster: @QuantusInsights
Date: 8/5-8/6
Voters: 668 Likely Voters pic.twitter.com/sib2fZmU8e
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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