Avery Milton thought he was a die-hard supporter of US President Donald Trump.
asserted
he → think → Trump
The 28-year-old South Carolina native had voted for Trump in the past three elections and believed in his promise to put America first.
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native → vote → America
But ahead of the midterm elections, the president has left him feeling betrayed.
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president → leave → him
“He stabbed us in the back during his second term,” Milton told Al Jazeera.
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Milton → stab → Jazeera
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Trump → slip → elections
it mean?
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it → mean → ?
Milton’s disillusionment is not isolated.
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disillusionment → isolate → ?
He said many people close to him share this frustration, particularly younger conservatives around his age who are starting families and entering the workforce.
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who → say → workforce
Trump launching a war on Iran, after campaigning on a promise to avoid new wars, was a particular breaking point.
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launching → launch → wars
Now, Milton is helping lead a grassroots effort to write in Republican Congressman Ralph Norman for the US Senate, rather than support the party nominee, Senator Darline Graham, who has Trump’s endorsement.
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who → help → endorsement
A write-in candidate is someone whose name does not appear on the ballot but can still be chosen by voters who write it in themselves.
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who → write → themselves
The option is often used to indicate dissatisfaction with the official candidates, but rarely leads to a victory.
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option → use → victory
One of those rare victories happened in 2010, when Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska won after launching a write-in campaign, having lost her Republican primary that year.
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Murkowski → happen → primary
In the 2022 South Carolina Senate race, write-in votes accounted for just 0.1 percent of all votes cast.
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votes → write → votes
Despite the president’s endorsement, Graham has struggled to unite conservatives behind her, potentially giving Democratic challenger Annie Andrews an opening in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the US Senate since 1998.
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that → struggle → 1998
After the sudden death of Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham on July 11, his younger sister, Darline, was appointed to serve out the remainder of his term.
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sister → appoint → term
Her appointment followed a tradition of family members succeeding deceased lawmakers, most commonly their spouses.
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members → follow → lawmakers
But she made history as the first sibling appointed to fill a Senate vacancy.
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she → make → vacancy
Graham initially described the role as an opportunity to finish her brother’s work during the remaining months of his term.
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Graham → describe → term
But days later, Trump urged her to run for a full six-year term, posting “RUN, DARLINE, RUN!” on Truth Social and promising his “complete and total endorsement” if she entered the race.
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she → urge → race
Three days later, Graham announced on Fox News that she would run.
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she → announce → News
For some Republicans, the transition from temporary appointment to a full-term campaign happened too quickly.
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transition → happen → campaign
Milton said he felt the appointment had effectively “installed” a candidate.
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appointment → say → candidate
Graham went on to defeat Republican Ralph Norman in the state’s August primary elections.
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Graham → go → elections
Norman, who represents South Carolina’s fifth congressional district, has repeatedly declined to campaign alongside Graham since losing the primary.
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who → represent → primary
He has made clear that his support for Graham is limited.
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is → make → Graham
“You have to earn the vote.
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You → have → vote
She hasn’t done that,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
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he → do → Journal
“The campaign has been about trying to prop up a candidate.”
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campaign → try → candidate
The tensions have been particularly pronounced in Upstate South Carolina, where Norman has considerable support.
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Norman → pronounce → support
Milton said Graham has done little to reach voters there during the campaign, aside from private dinners and appearances alongside Trump.
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Graham → say → Trump
“She [Graham] never tried to reach out to everyday people here Upstate.
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Graham → try → people
And that spoke volumes about how this South Carolina GOP establishment feels about the grassroots conservatives.
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establishment → speak → conservatives
They just really don’t care,” Milton said.
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Milton → care → ?
Frustrated by what he saw as a failure to represent grassroots conservatives, Milton helped launch the Write-In Ralph movement, building a website and giving the campaign a public platform.
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Milton → see → platform
Milton said he and other supporters wanted a senator who would think independently, rather than simply fall in line with party leadership.
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who → say → leadership
“We don’t necessarily want somebody that’s a rubber stamp for everything,” he said, adding that he wanted someone willing to “think of all the sides of an issue and policy”.
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he → want → issue
South Carolina’s independents
A sizeable group of South Carolina voters does not identify with either major party.
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group → identify → party
While the state does not register voters by party, a New York Times/Siena poll conducted in October suggested that 30 percent of likely voters identified as independents.
uncertain
percent → register → independents
Among those voters, Democratic Senate candidate Andrews led Graham by 20 percentage points.
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Andrews → lead → points
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
