{"id":1047,"date":"2026-07-12T21:38:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T21:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047"},"modified":"2026-07-12T21:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T21:38:20","slug":"the-race-to-fill-lindsey-grahams-seat-is-already-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047","title":{"rendered":"The Race to Fill Lindsey Graham’s Seat Is Already On"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Republicans were lining up \u2014 or at least publicly voicing their interest \u2014 on Sunday to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina as Gov. Henry McMaster weighs an interim appointment and Republicans look to a special election for a new nominee for the November ballot.<\/p>\n

Read more Lindsey Graham\u2019s Career of Contradictions<\/a><\/p>\n

Rep. Ralph Norman is expected to make an announcement Tuesday. \u201cYes!!\u201d he texted NOTUS when asked to confirm his intentions. He is not seeking reelection to the House.<\/p>\n

Rep. Nancy Mace also hinted at a run. One source familiar with her plans said Mace will go into the field with a poll starting Monday.<\/p>\n

Graham\u2019s term was up in January; he was seeking a fifth term and won his Republican primary last month. McMaster can appoint an interim replacement for Graham to serve until January, while Republicans will vote in a special election Aug. 11 to select a new nominee for the November general election. A runoff will be held Aug. 25 if no candidate reaches the threshold to get the Republican nomination outright.<\/p>\n

McMaster, who is term-limited from returning to the governor\u2019s office, could technically appoint himself to fill Graham\u2019s vacancy. If he did, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette \u2014 who is running for governor and has also been floated as a possible interim replacement for Graham \u2014 would replace McMaster under South Carolina state laws. Evette is heading into a close runoff against state Attorney General Alan Wilson for the Republican nomination for governor.<\/p>\n

Evette is meeting with McMaster on Sunday to discuss the Senate appointment, according to two sources familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n

Evette is also considering running for the full Senate term, one of the sources said.<\/p>\n

Whomever wins the special election for the Republican nomination for Senate will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.<\/p>\n

When asked about who should replace Graham, President Donald Trump told NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d he had someone in mind but said he would not share their name out of respect for his longtime ally.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have someone that I think would be great, but I don\u2019t want to say it now. Because it\u2019s too soon with Lindsey. I don\u2019t want to even talk about anybody,\u201d Trump said Sunday.<\/p>\n

Trump added that he believes McMaster will \u201cdo the right thing\u201d but noted that the final decision will be left up to \u201can election pretty soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump Says Graham Pushed the SAVE America Act in Final Phone Call<\/a><\/p>\n

In the hours after Graham\u2019s death, speculation over who would fill his seat swirled on social media. Mace finished last in the Republican primary for South Carolina governor, and she did not seek reelection for a fourth term in the House \u2014 but she signaled on social media that she might put her hat in the ring for Senate.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust when I thought I was out\u2026 they pull me back in\u2026\u201d Mace posted<\/u><\/span> to X on Sunday with a clip from the movie \u201cThe Godfather Part III.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mace\u2019s post sparked immediate backlash from her House colleague Rep. Mike Lawler (R-New York), who called it \u201cgrotesque\u201d and claimed Mace is \u201ccompletely unfit to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLiterally no one is pulling you back in,\u201d Lawler wrote<\/u><\/span> on X. \u201cTaking glee over the potential of becoming a Senator because of a vacancy created by the sudden death of your colleague is vile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina), the father of gubernatorial candidate Alan Wilson and the longest-serving Republican in the state, was initially interested in being appointed by McMaster and running for the full Senate term, a source close to the congressman confirmed.<\/p>\n

Wilson reversed course after speaking with Trump, citing Republicans\u2019 slim House majority.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was grateful to speak with President Trump today reminiscing about our mutual friend, Senator Lindsey Graham. I assured him my goal is to remain in the House to keep his two-vote majority for the American people!!!\u201d Wilson wrote<\/u><\/span> on X.<\/p>\n

Ed McMullen, the president\u2019s former ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, has also been discussed as a potential interim replacement, according to multiple sources familiar with the process. McMullen was the state director for Trump\u2019s 2016 presidential campaign in South Carolina.<\/p>\n

Graham\u2019s death also created vacancies on multiple Senate committees. Graham served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and was a member of the Appropriations, Judiciary, and Environment and Public Works committees.<\/p>\n

Graham was in line to succeed 92-year-old Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, had Grassley opted against running for the top spot again. Among Republicans, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has the next most seniority on the committee after Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) lost reelection.<\/p>\n

Read more Lindsey Graham Has Died at 71<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Republican field is forming fast, with Gov. McMaster\u2019s interim pick and an August special primary both looming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-senate"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Race to Fill Lindsey Graham's Seat Is Already On - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Race to Fill Lindsey Graham's Seat Is Already On - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Republican field is forming fast, with Gov. McMaster\u2019s interim pick and an August special primary both looming.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-12T21:38:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"The Race to Fill Lindsey Graham’s Seat Is Already On\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-12T21:38:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047\"},\"wordCount\":799,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dee6d8c9a5d29edb846fd5deea68f2be-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Senate\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047\",\"name\":\"The Race to Fill Lindsey Graham's Seat Is Already On - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dee6d8c9a5d29edb846fd5deea68f2be-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-12T21:38:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dee6d8c9a5d29edb846fd5deea68f2be-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dee6d8c9a5d29edb846fd5deea68f2be-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"FILE - Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., leaves a meeting in the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo\\\/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=1047#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Race to Fill Lindsey Graham’s Seat Is Already On\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Modern Home Journals\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Race to Fill Lindsey Graham's Seat Is Already On - Modern Home Journals","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Race to Fill Lindsey Graham's Seat Is Already On - Modern Home Journals","og_description":"A Republican field is forming fast, with Gov. McMaster\u2019s interim pick and an August special primary both looming.","og_url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047","og_site_name":"Modern Home Journals","article_published_time":"2026-07-12T21:38:20+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"headline":"The Race to Fill Lindsey Graham’s Seat Is Already On","datePublished":"2026-07-12T21:38:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047"},"wordCount":799,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dee6d8c9a5d29edb846fd5deea68f2be-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Senate"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047","name":"The Race to Fill Lindsey Graham's Seat Is Already On - Modern Home Journals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dee6d8c9a5d29edb846fd5deea68f2be-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-12T21:38:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dee6d8c9a5d29edb846fd5deea68f2be-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dee6d8c9a5d29edb846fd5deea68f2be-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"FILE - Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., leaves a meeting in the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 13, 2018. (AP Photo\/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=1047#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Race to Fill Lindsey Graham’s Seat Is Already On"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/","name":"Modern Home Journals","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/modernhomejournals.com"],"url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}