South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that he won’t help Sen. Darline Graham in the final week of her campaign. He accused a “Republican president” of “spending millions of dollars spreading false narratives” about why she is qualified to serve six more years, Fox News reported.
Norman wrote: “The voters in S.C. are not buying the argument that everyone has to ‘settle’ for a candidate that has been propped up by special interest groups.”
He called the race one about “attempts to ‘force’ a candidate on the voters of S.C.” He added: “It didn’t have to be this way as the great people living in South Carolina deserve ‘better!!’” He closed with: “Elections have consequences.”
(CNN) GOP Rep. Ralph Norman bashes Trump and Graham: South Carolina voters “deserve better”
“The voters in South Carolina are not buying the argument that everyone has to ‘settle’ for a candidate that has been propped up by special interest groups and a Republican president… pic.twitter.com/SSBk0zBEjD
— Politics & Poll Tracker
(@PollTracker2024) October 27, 2026
Graham was appointed to the Senate after her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, died in July. She beat Norman in the GOP runoff in August, a win Fox credits partly to Trump’s endorsement.
Trump rallied for Graham on Wednesday at Clemson University’s arena in Pendleton. “You must vote for Darline and Republicans,” he said. “High-quality person, and she’s going to be great.”
He went after her Democratic opponent, pediatrician Annie Andrews, whom he said “is an advocate for taxpayer funded child sexual mutilation — mutilization.”
He called her “a mutilizer,” and added, “You know what a mutilizer is? That’s a person that doesn’t do good things.” He added, “It’s sort of called child abuse. And because she supports that and mutilization — shouldn’t be doing it — Annie Andrews should have her medical license revoked, taken away — And she should not be allowed to run for office.”
[NOTE: Andrews has denied supporting gender surgery for minors, saying: “I don’t support gender surgery on minors.” She has accused Graham of misrepresenting her positions on transgender issues.]
Graham told voters: “The stakes are simply too high to sit on the sidelines. It’s close, so please don’t sit this one out.” She added, to Trump: “You were one of Lindsey’s dearest friends.”
Trump told the crowd that Election Day is “the only pollster that counts.”
A South Carolina Policy Council survey of likely and early voters, taken Oct. 16-25, put Graham at 47% and Andrews at 46%, inside the margin of error. Andrews leads among early voters, Yahoo reported.
Andrews has been promoting an endorsement from Republicans including former Governor David Beasley, who said in an endorsement video: “This country is too divided, and the political rhetoric has gotten way, way out of hand.” Former Democratic Governor Jim Hodges also backed Andrews, as did Norman’s son, Warren Norman, who wrote an op-ed saying he would support Andrews.
Graham campaign communications adviser Kevin Bishop responded to Beasley’s endorsement on X: “Other note, Beasley was elected 7 times as a Democrat. Switched parties; won as (a) Republican.”