Democrat Annie Andrews pulled off an unlikely victory in South Carolina on Tuesday, defeating Republican Sen. Darline Graham, who had been appointed to fill her late brother’s seat, The Associated Press reported.
Andrews, a pediatrician, won in a deeply conservative state, as South Carolina had not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1998, according to The New York Times.
“You have shown the nation what is possible,” Andrews told her supporters. “You have shown the nation that in this era of partisan divides, of vitriol and name-calling, in a politics dominated by billionaires and special interest groups and insiders in Washington, D.C., that we will not bow down.”
South Carolina had been in the Republican fold for decades, with Donald Trump winning the state in all three of his presidential races. But the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham in July threw the Senate race into disarray.
South Carolina, you have shown the nation — in an era of partisan divides, of vitriol and namecalling, in a politics dominated by billionaires, special interests, and insiders in Washington — that we will not bow down. We will not back down. And we will chart our own course. https://t.co/lQMOTRZgnE
— Dr. Annie Andrews (@AnnieAndrewsMD) November 4, 2026
Darline Graham was tapped to replace her brother, and during the campaign, Trump visited South Carolina three times to support her campaign, the Times reported.
Andrews, 45, worked to turn Darline Graham’s alliance with the president into a liability, according to the newspaper.
Andrews attacked Trump’s policies that caused rising costs and claimed that Darline Graham would be in debt to the president because of his endorsement that allowed her to win her primary earlier in the campaign.
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Graham told a subdued crowd of supporters in Columbia that they should remain proud of her brother and his achievements, the AP reported.
“This is a tough cycle, and all of us need to be involved as we chart a path forward,” Graham said. “It is clear that we as conservatives have work to do, and that work starts tonight.”
Andrews became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from South Carolina, The State newspaper reported.
“South Carolina, I think we just made history,” Andrews said as she took the stage.
The last time a Democrat won a statewide election in South Carolina was in 2006, when Jim Rex was elected state superintendent of education. The last time a Democrat was elected to the U.S. Senate from South Carolina was in 2008, when Fritz Hollings was reelected in 1998, The State reported.
In her victory speech, Andrews said she talked to Graham and thanked her for her love for South Carolina. Later in her speech, Andrews said she “was not handed a seat” and “did not read from a script,” referring to Graham, according to the newspaper.
“After everything we’ve been through, I’ve never been more certain of one thing: South Carolina’s best days are still ahead of us,” Andrews said.
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