FILE - Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., accompanied by his sister Darline, left, speaks at the GOP headquarters in Columbia, S.C., Sept. 1, 2015, where he filed for the South Carolina Presidential Primary. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro, File)
Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, will replace her late brother in the Senate until his elected successor takes office, South Carolina’s governor announced Monday.
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“Lindsey has always been there for me, and now I will be there for him,” she said at a press conference Monday. “I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States.”
Nordone was recommended for the seat by both President Donald Trump and Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina). “This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!” Trump wrote on social media earlier Monday.
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Nordone will be South Carolina’s first female senator.
Republicans will vote in a special primary election Aug. 11 to select a new nominee for the November election, and the winner will face Democrat Annie Andrews. Graham had been seeing a fifth term in the Senate and handily won his primary last month. He died of an aortic dissection on Saturday, according to preliminary findings by the D.C. medical examiner’s office.
Graham became his sister’s legal guardian after both of their parents died about 50 years ago. The two were close, and Nordone supported his campaigns, although she has never run for office. She appeared in one of her brother’s campaign ads this year.
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This is a developing story and will be updated.
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