ABC News (US)
· collected 2026-10-12 · by MEG KINNARD Associated Press
Sen. Darline Graham and Democratic nominee Annie Andrews debated for an hour in Columbia, South Carolina, three weeks ahead of the general election for the open Senate seat following Lindsey Graham's death. The debate saw personal attacks from both sides, with Andrews accusing Graham of being too aligned with President Trump to stand up to him when necessary. Meanwhile, Graham defended her use of the Graham name and criticized Andrews' qualifications. Despite outside groups pouring millions into supporting Graham, the race has tightened as Democrats aim to reclaim control of Congress amid low approval ratings for Trump.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In an unexpectedly tight Senate race in South Carolina, Darline Graham, the Republican nominee and sister of late Senator Lindsey Graham, faces off against Democrat Annie Andrews. The debate on October 15 was seen as pivotal ahead of early voting beginning October 19th. Despite South Carolina traditionally being a conservative stronghold where President Trump remains popular, polls show the race is tightening. Republicans argue past close polls were misleading and predict Graham will win by double digits, while Democrats see this as an opportunity to challenge her.
The debate saw both candidates attack each other's experience and qualifications. Andrews, a pediatrician, criticized Graham for lacking expertise on national security issues, referencing her previous debate flubs. Meanwhile, Graham accused Andrews of being too radical, linking her to the unpopular policies of the Democratic Party. Both candidates debated key issues like Iran policy, economic inflation, and artificial intelligence data centers, with Graham defending Trump's agenda and Andrews pledging independence from party dogma.
With early voting starting in less than a week, both campaigns are mobilizing resources; Republicans have pledged up to $5 million for ads supporting Graham. The race underscores the national political shift where even traditionally safe Republican seats could become competitive.
Written for “South Carolina Senate Debate” on 2026-10-12,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Feud spills onto South Carolina debate stage
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Feud → spill → stage
Sen. Darline Graham and Democratic nominee Annie Andrews took their social media feud to the debate stage as they vie for an open Senate seat in South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. --
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they → take → Carolina
Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., and Democratic nominee Annie Andrews took their campaign trail sniping to the debate stage Sunday night, with each candidate arguing their case for the Senate seat in a race that has appeared to become unexpectedly close in the weeks ahead of the midterms.
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that → take → midterms
The issues bounced from Iran to the economy and artificial intelligence, but all seemed to boil down to Graham and Andrews arguing over who was less qualified for the South Carolina Senate seat as they sparred for an hour in their only debate, three weeks ahead of the general election.
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they → bounce → election
Lindsey Graham had been seeking his fifth Senate term when he died suddenly in July.
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he → seek → July
Even though critics routinely criticized Graham for being too conciliatory to Democrats, he won the June primary and was favored to secure another term.
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he → criticize → term
Appointed to serve out the remainder of her late brother's current term, Darline Graham opted to join the crowded field for a special primary, in which she was endorsed by President Donald Trump — to whom her brother was closely aligned.
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brother → appoint → whom
She advanced to a runoff and won.
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She → advance → runoff
Now, with a different Graham on the ballot, the race has seemed to tighten, as Democrats hope to retake control of Congress while Trump's popularity remains low.
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popularity → seem → Congress
Outside groups have poured millions of dollars into the race on Graham's behalf, which has been called an “insurance policy” for the Republican's victory.
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which → pour → victory
Several times Sunday, Graham mentioned her support for the president, although not as stridently as she did during the special primary.
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she → mention → primary
Andrews touched on the Trump-Graham nexus, saying she would stand up to the Democratic Party when she disagreed with pronouncements, something she said Graham, as “the White House’s ambassador to South Carolina,” would not do.
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Graham → touch → Carolina
Darline Graham had worked in state government but had not been directly involved in politics, aside from supporting her brother during his decades in the U.S. House and Senate.
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Graham → work → House
After Andrews also took a swipe at Graham for angling to use her maiden name for political advantage, given her brother’s years of service, the Republican said she had only used her husband’s last name — Nordone — for a social media page, never on legal documents.
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she → take → documents
“My legal name is Graham, it has always been Graham,” the Republican said, adding that she kept the name to maintain a connection to her parents, both of whom died when she was young.
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she → say → whom
On Iran, Andrews brought up Graham's flub from a Republican runoff debate, in which Graham struggled to answer a question on whether the U.S. has a national security interest in Taiwan and the South China Sea — a longstanding contention of both Democratic and Republican administrations — before admitting, “National security is not my thing.”
“If your surgeon said that appendectomies aren’t really his thing, would you still hand him a scalpel?
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you → bring → scalpel
No,” Andrews said, calling Graham “unserious and unqualified.”
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Andrews → say → Graham
At least I’m honest.
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I → ’m → ?
If I don’t know something, I am glad to say it, and I’ll say it again tonight," said Graham, whose brother was a renowned foreign policy hawk and met with leaders around the world.
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brother → know → world
"You are deceiving the people of South Carolina.
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You → deceive → Carolina
You have flip-flopped on everything."
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You → flip → everything
A question over whether they use AI or support guardrails for it devolved into a squabble over Graham's qualifications for office.
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they → use → office
After Graham said she applauded Trump's creation of an AI task force, Andrews said Graham had been a good interim pick to replace her brother but “has shown time and time again that she is not up for the job” for a full six-year term.
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she → say → term
Graham clapped back, “I'm just as qualified as you," to Andrews, who has not been elected to office before.
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who → clap → office
With three women vying for the seat, South Carolina is poised to elect its first woman to the U.S. Senate.
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Carolina → vie → Senate
Two weeks of early voting in South Carolina starts Oct. 19.
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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
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Kinnard → start → http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
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