Darline Graham Nordone, Lindsey Graham’s younger sister and close confidant, will serve the remainder of the late senator’s term in Washington.
“It’s my honor to ask his little sister Darline Graham to finish his work for him now,” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Monday, formally appointing Nordone after recounting stories of Graham’s legacy.
President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune both publicly expressed support for McMaster choosing Nordone as a tribute to Graham.
Her appointment as an interim caretaker triggers a wide-open race ahead of the Aug. 11 primary. Several Republicans are already weighing bids to take over Graham’s place as the GOP Senate nominee.
“It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and 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 said at the press conference alongside McMaster. She added that the decision is one that “Lindsey would have wanted.”
Graham helped raise Nordone after their parents passed away early in her childhood. The siblings had shared a close relationship since, and she appeared alongside the late senator on the campaign trail on several occasions — including at his presidential campaign launch in the summer of 2015.
Nordone’s appointment came together quickly over the last 36 hours, according to McMaster’s top political adviser and former chief of staff Trey Walker.
McMaster was notified of Graham’s death around 11 p.m. Saturday, hours before the late senator’s office publicly shared the news, Walker told POLITICO.
The first thing the governor did on Sunday morning was call Nordone to express his condolences. Then, as the day progressed and he fielded calls about next steps, he rang her again around 10 a.m. with a question: Would she like to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term in Washington?
Nordone and McMaster know each other well. Nordone helms the state’s Commission for the Blind, is “very familiar at the state house” and interfaces “a lot” with the governor’s office, Walker said.
With Nordone’s buy-in, the next call the governor placed was to the White House.
“How fitting a tribute to Lindsey would it be … to appoint Darline, his sister, to finish Lindsey’s work this time and to put that beautiful bookend on the story of his service?” Walker said, describing how McMaster laid out his thinking to Trump. The president, whose blessing is key in deeply conservative South Carolina, was “very receptive” to the idea, Walker noted.
Trump then made that approval clear on Truth Social on Monday morning when he said her appointment would be a “fabulous tribute” to the late senator.
The White House and McMaster’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
South Carolina Republicans expect Nordone to only serve as a caretaker to finish Graham’s term, though Nordone hasn’t signaled herself whether she will or will not mount her own bid to serve a full six-year term in Washington.
The jockeying for the Aug. 11 primary has already begun in the deep-red state where an open Senate seat is a rare opportunity for up-and-coming politicians to come across.
Republicans both in South Carolina and Washington point to Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) as a possible top contender, as someone who has deep ties to Columbia and to Trump’s White House. Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who unsuccessfully ran for governor earlier this year, is also seen as a top contender because of her high name recognition and her ability to reengage her statewide campaign infrastructure.
Others, like Mace and Norman have more clearly signaled their intent to mount their own bids for Graham’s seat, but no candidates have officially announced a formalized run.
Trump, who could have an outsized role in boosting Graham’s elected successor, has yet to make any public statements about his preferences for a candidate to fill the full term.