Darline Graham

Public administration

In 2008, Graham began working for the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department. She helped coordinate a remote work program for adults with severe disabilities for Time Warner.^[15] By 2015, she was the department's public information director.^[16]

In 2019, Graham became commissioner and agency head of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, which administers vocational rehabilitation, independent living, and blindness-prevention programs for South Carolinians who are blind or have low vision.^[17] She also serves on the South Carolina State Workforce Development Board and its SC Works Management Committee. In 2026, she was elected president of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind, with her term scheduled to start in January 2027.^[12]

Political involvement

In 2002, Graham appeared in a television advertisement for Lindsey's campaign in that year's United States Senate election in South Carolina.^[1] She continued to assist in his subsequent campaigns, discussing her childhood during the 2014^[11] and 2026 Senate races.^[18] Graham supported her brother's campaign for president of the United States in the 2016 election, introducing him in his first campaign speech.^[19]

Appointment

South Carolina governor Henry McMaster appointed Graham on July 13, 2026, to fill her brother's vacant senate seat,^[20] the same day President Donald Trump endorsed her.^[21] She was sworn in on July 14.^[22] She is the first woman to represent South Carolina in the Senate and the first senator to replace a sibling.^[23][24][25] Her appointment marked the first time 27 women have served concurrently in the Senate, including 11 Republican women, both records.^[26][27]

2026 election

President Trump publicly encouraged Graham on July 17 to run in the 2026 United States Senate election in South Carolina and promised to endorse her if she did.^[28] Graham told Sean Hannity three days later that she intended to run for a full term.^[29] She came in first in the special primary election on August 11, advancing to a runoff with Ralph Norman.^[30] On August 25, Graham won the runoff,^[31] advancing to the general election against Annie Andrews, with the winner set to become the first woman elected to the Senate from South Carolina.

When Graham was asked questions about national security issues in Taiwan and the South China Sea during the debate with Norman, she could not answer them.^[32] Her debate performance was called "embarrassing".^{[32][33][better source needed]} Although Trump endorsed Graham, some of his supporters refused to vote for her.^[34]

During the special Republican primary runoff, Andrews asked Graham and Norman to have a debate with the winner. After winning the runoff, Graham refused to debate Andrews.^[35][36] In response, the South Carolina Democratic Party created a website (debatemedarline) to pressure her to debate Andrews. Eventually, Graham agreed to a debate on October 11.^[37] In her statement agreeing to the debate, she said: "I'm in. On October 11, I will take the debate stage and expose Annie Andrews' radical positions she's spent the last year hiding from South Carolina families. This is your seat, South Carolina, and it will be my honor to show you why I am ready to continue serving you and representing our conservative values in Washington."^[38]

Tenure

On July 16, Graham introduced the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, legislation to impose sanctions on Russia. It is based on the Sanctioning Russia Act, a bill Lindsey Graham authored and supported, and has bipartisan support.^[39] It passed the Senate and awaits a House vote.^[40]

Graham voted "yea" on the nomination of Todd Blanche as United States Attorney General. He was confirmed by a 50–49 vote.^[41]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations^[42]
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
• Committee on the Budget^[42]
• Committee on Environment and Public Works^[42]
• Committee on the Judiciary^[42]