Republican super PAC to spend $5 million in tightening South Carolina Senate race

The Senate Leadership Fund, the main Republican super PAC supporting Senate candidates, plans to spend $5 million in South Carolina to support Republican Sen. Darline Graham, according to Axios, which first reported the plan. NBC News, CBS News and The Associated Press, in a report carried by The Seattle Times, confirmed the spending, citing sources familiar with the plans. The Seattle Times reported the money is meant more as an insurance policy and that Republicans remain confident in their chances of retaining the seat. NBC News reported the super PAC is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 7 ]

The spending is the latest sign that the race between Graham and Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews is competitive. Bloomberg reported that some in the party are worried the contest for the seat Graham's late brother held for more than two decades is in jeopardy, according to people familiar with the situation. Axios reported the GOP's concern that a seat in “blood-red South Carolina” could be in play shows how bad the political environment is for Republicans. NBC News said the Senate map is shifting further in Democrats' favor with less than a month until Election Day, which Bloomberg and The Seattle Times give as Nov. 3. The Seattle Times reported the super PAC recently pulled back in North Carolina and is pouring money into Kansas, another conservative state that has become more competitive. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]

Graham was appointed to the seat after her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, died suddenly in July. NBC News reported that South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her, while Axios reported she was appointed in July at the urging of President Trump, a friend of her brother's. Within days, NBC News reported, she announced she would run for a full six-year term with Trump's backing, and she defeated Rep. Ralph Norman in an August primary runoff to become the GOP nominee. NBC News reported Trump carried South Carolina by 18 points in 2024 and that the last Democrat elected to represent the state in the Senate was Fritz Hollings, who served from 1966 until 2005. CBS News reported Lindsey Graham won in 2020 by 10 points despite a well-funded opponent. [ 2 , 5 , 7 ]

Trump on Monday used an anti-transgender slur to attack Andrews in a social media post, referring to her three times with the slur, according to NBC News. Andrews is not transgender. CBS News reported that Andrews, a pediatrician, has said she does not support gender transition surgery for minors but has in the past voiced opposition to a bill banning transgender athletes in sports, and told The New York Times last week that she does not “support biological men playing in women's sports.” NBC News reported an outside GOP group, Security Is Strength, also launched an attack ad against Andrews on Monday focused on transgender issues. Andrews' campaign has dominated the airwaves, spending $6.1 million on ads since the beginning of September, NBC News reported, citing ad-tracking data. [ 2 , 5 , 7 ]

Graham campaign spokesperson T.W. Arrighi said in a statement, “After over a month of non-stop misleading ads from Annie Andrews, funded by millions of out-of-state dollars, South Carolinians are beginning to learn the truth,” NBC News reported. An Andrews spokesperson told Axios, “South Carolinians don't know who Darline Graham is or what she believes — she avoids reporters, avoids voters, and lies about Annie rather than doing her job.” Axios also reported the 314 Action Fund called Trump “perverted” and said he “has resorted to name-calling and juvenile insults because his candidate can't win on the issues.” The Seattle Times reported that Trump's midterm blitz is tentatively scheduled to take him to South Carolina ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms. [ 1 , 2 , 7 ]