South Carolina Gov. McMaster unveils pick to succeed late Sen. Lindsey Graham for remainder of his term
South Carolina Gov. McMaster unveils pick to succeed late Sen. Lindsey Graham for remainder of his term
WASHINGTON — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has tapped late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, as interim senator to serve out the remainder of his term.
Graham (R-SC), 71, was up for reelection this election cycle and had just clinched the GOP nod. South Carolina is expected to hold a special primary election on Aug. 11 to find a new GOP standard bearer to succeed him after his sister finishes up the rest of his term in January 2027.
“Lindsey took care of his little sister in years long departed. It’s my honor to ask his little sister, Darline Graham, to finish his work for him now,” McMaster announced at a press conference, with dozens of the late senator’s staffers and campaign advisers standing behind him and Darline.
Darline also had the support of President Trump and Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.). She will be sworn into office Tuesday afternoon.
Graham’s grieving sister said she felt “confident” taking up her brother’s mantle knowing she has the support of his staff and colleagues.
“I think this is what Lindsey would have wanted, and I plan to honor him in this way,” Darline said.
“To Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words, but I’m going to do this. I got it,” she added.
Darline, 64, is a married mother of two daughters and also a grandmother.
The Central, SC, native has never held elected public office before, but she has “dedicated her career to public service,” according to the governor’s office.
Since 2019, Darline has served as Commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind [SCCB], where she “has worked to expand opportunities for South Carolinians who are blind or have low vision to achieve employment and independence,” McMaster’s office noted in a press release.
A state database of public employees confirms Darline is the “agency head” of the commission and earns a salary of $138,000 – a bit less than the $174,000 per year she’ll make as a US senator.
Prior to her appointment as Commissioner, Darline held roles with Clemson University, the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce and the South Carolina Department of Vocational Rehabilitation for nearly 30 years, the governor’s office said.
“In addition to her full-time role as SCCB Commissioner, Ms. Graham currently serves on the South Carolina State Workforce Development Board and is president-elect of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind,” the release continued.
Her credentials include a bachelor’s degree from the College of Charleston, a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling and she is a Certified Public Manager.
Graham died suddenly Saturday evening after suffering a tear in the aorta, which takes blood from the heart to distribute to the rest of the body, according to his office.
Preliminary findings from the Washington, DC, medical examiner’s office determined that the ruptured aorta was brought on by chronic heart disease.
Emergency responders arrived at the Republican senator’s Capitol Hill home at around 8:30 p.m. after getting a call about an individual suffering from chest pains, according to scanner audio.
Medics performed CPR as Graham went into cardiac arrest a half hour later. He was then rushed to George Washington University Hospital, where he died.
Ahead of McMaster’s announcement, Trump urged the governor to tap Darline as his interim successor.
“This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) agreed and told The Post that he has known the late South Carolina senator’s sister “for years and she’s a constituent of mine in Lexington County.”
“I have faith in Gov. McMaster that he will make the right decision, but I would support the president’s recommendation,” Wilson said.
Latest on the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham:
- Trump reveals Lindsey Graham’s ‘one bad moment’ after senator’s shocking death at 71
- Flowers, hugs, sticky note tributes at ‘true patriot’ Lindsey Graham’s DC office form makeshift memorial
- Iranians in London hold candlelight vigil for Lindsey Graham outside US Embassy
- Lindsey Graham: The senator, soldier and statesman who never backed down
During his announcement, McMaster indicated that he had asked Darline to replace her brother in the Senate “in the wee hours of Sunday morning,” shortly after Graham’s death, and said she “agreed to serve through tears.”
The late senator had become his sister’s legal guardian in his early 20s after their parents died and he enlisted in the Air Force. That helped her receive his military benefits.
Darline commended him for ensuring she completed high school and received a college education.
The Graham parents had run a bar and pool hall in Central, S.C., where, for a time, they had raised their two kids in a backroom, the senator later shared in a memoir.
Their father, Florence James Graham, died of a heart attack at age 69, just a few years younger than Lindsey Graham was at the time of his death. Fifteen months before, their mother passed away from cancer in 1976.
Darline was only 13 years old at the time, and Lindsey Graham, then 22, told her: “I’m going to take care of you.”
“I was just a kid. I remembered that day Lindsey came running in and just grabbed me up and hugged me,” she said in a recent video posted by the senator’s office. “He’s always been there for me. No matter what.”
Graham had long been close to his sister. During his long-shot 2016 presidential campaign, the South Carolinian bachelor suggested that she would serve as first lady if he won.
“I’ve got a sister, she could play that role if necessary,” he told the Daily Mail in a June 2015 interview when asked about being the first lifelong bachelor in the White House since former President James Buchanan.
After Trump publicly pushed for her to take Graham’s seat through the remainder of his term, Darline told The Post that she was “devastated” by his unexpected passing.
“Lindsey has always been there for me and now I will be there for him,” Darline said after being tapped by McMaster. “My brother was the most amazing person, outstanding leader and just a genuinely good man. He was kind and considerate and loved by his family … He worked nonstop to make our state, country and world better.”
Graham was first elected to the US House in 1994 as part of the Republican Revolution, which toppled Democratic control of the chamber that had been dominated by Speaker Tip O’Neill since the late 1970s.
“You know what Reagan and O’Neill did? They sat down and actually got to know each other. They had a drink,” Graham said in a December 2015 town hall in his home state.
“If I get to be president, we’re going to open up a bar in the White House. We’re going to get liquored up and solve problems.”
Known as a gregarious and passionate lawmaker, Graham went on to serve as one of the House impeachment managers for former President Bill Clinton’s Senate trial in the late 1990s before running for a spot in the upper chamber to replace longtime Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC).
The late senator had several key ambitious foreign policy projects he was working on before his tragic passing, including the pursuit of normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, more aggressive action against Iran, and a sanctions bill against Russia.
He was also seeking a fifth term in the Senate in the 2026 midterm elections.
“I can’t die now,” he had reportedly joked hours before he was supposed to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, according to Axios.
“I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization,” Graham said.
At the time, Graham privately acknowledged that he wasn’t feeling well. The senator had been pushed to get medical attention, but he insisted he would do so after his scheduled appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, per the report.
Graham had been a giant in the Senate, involved in most significant bipartisan pieces of legislation that cleared the upper chamber during his tenure.
A foreign policy luminary, he was also massively influential on the world stage, frequently meeting with global leaders and dignitaries, while advocating for a hawkish approach against America’s enemies.
“He’s going to be appreciated more now than he was when he was living,” Trump reflected to “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
“He’s a tough one to lose. He was great — he was unique in every way,” Trump later added. “He was like a member of the family to me. It’s very tough.”
