Trump’s Endorsement Shapes Tight South Carolina Senate Race

A new New York Times/Siena poll found Republican Sen. Darline Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews locked in a neck-and-neck race for South Carolina’s Senate seat, with President Donald Trump’s endorsement and rally carrying visible weight in the campaign.

At the rally, Billy Stanick said, “I vote for everybody that Donald Trump endorses.” Stacy Rothenberger also credited Trump’s influence, saying, “There's so many people that just hate Trump because they've been told to, but they need to realize that by not voting for Republicans, you are really voting for the opposite.” The campaign’s public face was clear: a Senate contest filtered through party choice, a presidential endorsement and voters’ trust in the person at the top of the ticket.

An Endorsement From the Top

Trump traveled to South Carolina to rally for Graham, who is seeking a full term in an unexpectedly tight contest. South Carolina is described as solidly Republican, and Graham as a political newcomer. Yet the race is close, and the rally placed Trump’s support at the center of her campaign appearance.

The rally took place in the congressional district of Rep. Ralph Norman, whom Graham defeated in a special primary runoff earlier this year. Trump had endorsed Graham against Norman in the primary. That contest followed the death in office of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham. Trump endorsed Darline Graham to fill the remainder of her late brother’s term and to run for a full seat.

Norman told NBC News he wasn’t attending the rally. The contest that elevated Graham thus played out through a primary, a presidential endorsement and a rally, while the voters quoted at the event described how they weighed those signals.

What Voters Said They Were Trusting

Stanick said he trusted Graham had “got to know what's going on” through her time with her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham. Rothenberger said she hoped Graham would learn the job: “We are praying that she will get on board and she'll educate herself and get knowledgeable.” She added, “I mean, if I went into politics I wouldn't know everything either. Do you know what I mean? I'll give her a little grace.”

Rothenberger acknowledged reservations about Trump, saying he sometimes says “things that aren't always the best, that I wouldn't approve of,” but urged voters to “put that aside” and see him as a “businessman” and negotiator. She said she was “frustrated” because she wanted the Iran war to end, but believed Trump “knows what he's doing, he's figuring it out.” Her comments joined support for Graham to confidence in Trump, even as she described disagreement with some of his words and frustration over the war.

The campaign’s choices are presented through the electoral apparatus: a Senate seat, party candidates, a primary and presidential campaigning. The article describes no mutual-aid effort, community organizing or direct action at the rally; the response it records is voters explaining whom they support and why.

Campaign Power, From South Carolina to Texas

Trump had also been in South Carolina the previous week. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance was scheduled to campaign in Texas for Republican Ken Paxton, who is running against Democrat James Talarico in a highly competitive race for an open Senate seat that Democrats hope to flip. The two campaigns show senior political figures working to shape Senate contests in separate states.

For Graham, Trump’s backing reached from the primary contest against Norman to the rally supporting her full-term bid. For the voters interviewed, that endorsement was not background noise: Stanick said he votes for everyone Trump endorses, while Rothenberger urged people to set aside misgivings and support Republicans. The poll found Graham and Andrews nearly even, but the rally’s message leaned on a familiar hierarchy of political trust—from president to candidate, and from candidate to voter.