Top Republican super PAC to spend $5M in South Carolina Senate race
In short
The Senate Leadership Fund, a top Republican super PAC, plans to spend $5 million in the South Carolina Senate race to support GOP Sen. Darline Graham. The race against Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews is seen as competitive, a sign of a difficult national environment for Republicans. The move comes as the Senate map is shifting in Democrats’ favor with less than a month until Election Day.
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The Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC supporting Republican Senate candidates, plans to spend $5 million in South Carolina to support GOP Sen. Darline Graham, according to Axios and NBC News. Axios first reported the planned spending, citing a source familiar with the move, and NBC News confirmed it with a source familiar with the spending. The super PAC is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., NBC News reported. The New York Times also reported that Republicans are spending to aid Graham as the South Carolina Senate race tightens. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The spending is seen as a sign that the race between Graham and Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews is competitive. Axios reported that the GOP’s concern that a Senate seat in “blood-red South Carolina” could be in play shows how bad the political environment is for Republicans. NBC News reported that the move comes as the Senate map is shifting further in Democrats’ favor with less than a month until Election Day. Senate Republicans had stopped financing ads in North Carolina, where GOP candidate Michael Whatley is lagging behind former Gov. Roy Cooper, Axios reported. [ 1 , 2 ]
Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, was appointed to the seat in July by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster after her brother died suddenly, NBC News reported. Axios reported she was appointed at the urging of President Trump. She announced she would run for a full six-year term with Trump’s backing, NBC News reported. She defeated Rep. Ralph Norman in a primary runoff in August to become the GOP nominee, according to NBC News. Trump carried South Carolina by 18 points in 2024, NBC News reported. The last Democrat elected to represent South Carolina in the Senate was Fritz Hollings, who served from 1966 until 2005, NBC News reported. [ 1 , 2 ]
President Trump on Monday used an anti-transgender slur to attack Andrews in a Truth Social post, referring to her three times as “trannie,” NBC News reported. Andrews is not transgender. An outside GOP group, Security Is Strength, also launched an attack ad against Andrews on Monday focused on transgender issues, NBC News reported. Andrews’ campaign has dominated the airwaves, spending $6.1 million on ads since the beginning of September, according to NBC News, citing ad-tracking data. [ 2 ]
Graham campaign spokesperson T.W. Arrighi said in a statement, “After over a month of non-stop misleading ads from Annie Andrews, funded by millions of out-of-state dollars, South Carolinians are beginning to learn the truth,” NBC News reported. An Andrews spokesperson told Axios, “South Carolinians don’t know who Darline Graham is or what she believes — she avoids reporters, avoids voters, and lies about Annie rather than doing her job.” The 314 Action Fund called Trump “perverted” and said he “has resorted to name-calling and juvenile insults because his candidate can’t win on the issues,” Axios reported. [ 1 , 2 ]
Axios reported that closer-than-expected polling from two firms that typically survey for Republicans sparked concern last week in GOP circles. The documents do not provide details of those polls. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The spending suggests Republicans see a once-safe South Carolina seat as competitive, reflecting a difficult national environment for the GOP. It comes as Democrats are gaining ground in Senate races, with less than a month until Election Day.
Key facts
- The Senate Leadership Fund, a top Republican super PAC, plans to spend $5 million in the South Carolina Senate race. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The race is between Republican Sen. Darline Graham and Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The spending is seen as a sign the race is competitive. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The super PAC is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. [ 2 ]
- The move comes as Senate Republicans stopped financing ads in North Carolina, where GOP candidate Michael Whatley trails former Gov. Roy Cooper. [ 1 ]
- Graham is the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and was appointed to the seat in July after her brother died. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Graham defeated Rep. Ralph Norman in an August primary runoff to become the GOP nominee. [ 2 ]
- Andrews’ campaign has spent $6.1 million on ads since the beginning of September. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Senate Leadership Fund plans to spend $5 million in the South Carolina Senate race. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The race is between Republican Sen. Darline Graham and Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The spending is seen as a sign the race is competitive or tightening. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Darline Graham is the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Graham was appointed to the Senate seat after her brother’s death. [ 1 , 2 ]
- President Trump has backed Graham. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- The exact timing of the $5 million spending is not specified. The documents do not say when the funds will be deployed.
- The full amount Andrews’ campaign has spent on ads is unclear. NBC News reported $6.1 million since early September, but the article is truncated after that figure.
- Details of the polling that sparked GOP concern are not provided. Axios mentions closer-than-expected polling from two firms but does not provide numbers or firm names.
- The identity of the source familiar with the spending is not disclosed. Both Axios and NBC News cite unnamed sources.