Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham fended off his primary challengers Tuesday, securing an easy victory with the help of an endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Graham will now face off against a pediatrician from Charleston: Annie Andrews.
The race for Graham’s seat has not drawn nearly as much attention as, say, the Maine dogfight between Graham Platner and Susan Collins. South Carolina is still solidly Republican, and Graham is heavily favored. Polymarket has the odds of the GOP keeping the seat at 82% as of Friday morning.
Graham’s campaign enjoys a major cash advantage. As of March 31, Graham had over $11.5 million in cash on hand, according to OpenSecrets. His top contributor among organizations is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has donated $444,997, followed by engineering and construction company Fluor Corporation at $45,000, Duke Energy at $35,000, Bloom Energy at $29,000 and Boeing at $26,000. Andrews raised $2.21 million in the first quarter of 2026 and $1.66 million in the second quarter. The total, so far, comes out to $6.5 million, with $2.6 million cash on hand.
Yet Graham is facing some political headwinds, namely President Trump’s unpopular war against Iran, which the senator has supported from the start. In fact, Graham is one of the most hawkish Republican senators. He repeatedly urged the president to invade Iran’s strategically crucial Kharg Island, but later walked back the idea. His unwavering support for the war could make the race tighter than expected. (RELATED: ROOKE: Lindsey Graham Playing For Both Sides)
Andrews, the Democratic Party nominee, is a doctor who has lived in the Low Country since 2009.
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – MAY 29: Campaign signs for Rep Jim Clyburn and Dr. Annie Andrews are seen during Clyburn’s annual “World Famous Fish Fry” at Edventure Children’s Museum on May 29, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina. The event originated to thank campaign workers and volunteers and has grown into one of the biggest political events of the year in the early primary state. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
This isn’t Andrews’ first foray into politics. She suffered a big loss to Republican Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022, nabbing 42% of the votes. In that campaign, she leaned in to the issues of healthcare, gun violence and abortion.
Her 2026 Senate campaign is also making healthcare reform and her medical career a major centerpiece. In a post-victory speech Tuesday, Andrews told supporters she wants to protect Medicare subsidies, “fully fund” the CDC and NIH and impeach and remove HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
There is a populist edge to the campaign, as well.
Andrews said she wants to pass term limits and ban members of Congress from trading stocks or becoming lobbyists. She also wants to root out dark money from politics and help reverse the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which removed long-standing restrictions on the amount independent expenditure groups could spend to support or oppose candidates.
“Lindsey Graham has been in the Senate for more than twenty years. He’s taken millions from corporate PACs, defended corruption, and turned public service into a career of political self-preservation,” her campaign website says. “I don’t take a dime of corporate PAC money. I’m not a career politician. I’m a doctor who believes the government should serve families, not donors.”
US Senator Lindsey Graham (R), Republican of South Carolina, speaks to the press alongside US President Donald Trump, surrounded by members of Congress, after Trump signed a funding bill to end a partial government shutdown in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, February 3, 2026. The US House of Representatives passed a spending bill on Tuesday ending the four-day partial government shutdown sparked by Democratic opposition to funding for the federal agency carrying out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
Additionally, Andrews called for an end to Trump’s tariffs, an economic policy that has become broadly unpopular.
Her campaign website features a section attacking Graham’s longtime support for aggressive military interventions.
“As politicians play military games in places like Venezuela, Cuba, and Greenland, Lindsey Graham is doing what he’s always done: cheering on another endless conflict,” it says. “He backed the Iraq War on false claims, and he’s spent the last twenty years pushing more military interventions that cost American lives and trillions of dollars, while defense contractors and insiders get rich.” (RELATED: Lindsey Graham Plays With Toys At Disney World As He Pushes For Ground Troops In Iran)
Space Mountain was less than 20 years old when Lindsey Graham first took office. https://t.co/CKRjvrz91u
— Dr. Annie Andrews (@AnnieAndrewsMD) March 30, 2026
“South Carolina families are struggling to afford groceries, rent, and healthcare. Lindsey Graham keeps choosing war instead.”
And this might be the one chink in Graham’s armor: his support for an unpopular war that has fueled rising prices.
A lot can happen between now and November. The war could end — miraculously — and although Graham might be upset if it ends without bigger fireworks, peace would certainly help his campaign. Conversely, if the war drags on, the Strait of Hormuz stays closed and the U.S. economy suffers more damage, this will all play to Andrews’ advantage.
This latter scenario might not be enough for Andrews to pull off a stunning upset. But it might be enough to make Graham sweat and pump much more money than anticipated into a race that would otherwise have been an easy lay-up … were it not for “endless” Middle East wars.