Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) spent part of her victory speech on Tuesday night going after her Democratic opponent’s support for “government-run health care,” while sharing a personal anecdote that inadvertently undercut her point.
“Gun control, government-run health care, abortion until the moment of birth—bad idea after bad idea. Annie Andrews backs them all,” Graham said.
Graham then went on to detail her parents’ experiences while she was growing up, including how hard they worked even after they fell ill.
“My parents worked long, hard hours to make ends meet,” Graham told the crowd. “We didn’t take vacations. If they were sick, they had to get up and go to work because if the doors weren’t open, we weren’t making money. My mother passed away when I was 11, and my father just over a year later.”
“I’m not sure that’s the winning message she thinks it is,” noted Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot and former Democratic candidate for Kentucky Senate, in a post on X.
“So what she said there was that her health care plan is, ‘You should work hard until you die,’” Andrews said, reflecting on Graham’s speech. “…I believe that we deserve better. I believe that Darline’s parents deserved better. I believe that health care is a human right.”