South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham is consolidating the support of fellow Republicans, including former rival Rep. Russell Fry, ahead of an Aug. 25 runoff to replace her late brother, Lindsey Graham, on the November ballot. Fry finished third behind Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman in Tuesday’s special primary election, missing out on a faceoff between the top-two finishers. On Friday, he became the latest prominent Republican to back Graham, who has the support of President Donald Trump. The president “needs fighters and allies in the Senate who will show up every day and get results. I believe Darline Graham will be exactly that,’’ the second-term congressman posted on social media. Trump has pledged to go to South Carolina to campaign for Graham, whom Gov. Henry McMaster appointed to fill out her late brother’s remaining tenure. Trump quickly encouraged her to seek a full six-year term. In the run-up to Tuesday’s primary, Fry had criticized Graham, a first-time candidate who spent years working in state government jobs, including as the head of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. He accused her of backing diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, measures in her previous position, a charge she rejected. During a debate, he called himself “battle-tested in getting results’’ and, in a perceived dig at Graham, said he “didn’t inherit a record.’’ But on Friday, Fry struck a conciliatory note. “Campaigns are temporary. The cause is bigger than any one candidate,’’ he said. The New York Times reported Friday that Fry’s decision to back Graham came at Trump’s behest. An attorney and former state legislator, Fry was first elected to South Carolina’s deep-red 7th District in 2022 after ousting Republican Rep. Tom Rice in the primary with Trump’s support. Rice had angered Trump after voting to impeach him in 2021 over the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Shortly after Lindsey Graham’s death, Trump lavished praise on Fry, calling him “outstanding” and leading some to speculate he could back him to replace the late senator. But the president threw his support behind Darline Graham. Fry joins several other notable South Carolina Republicans in backing Graham. Sen. Tim Scott, who leads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, urged voters to support his appointed colleague while revealing that he voted for her Tuesday. “She is a conservative stalwart, a hard worker, and represents our beloved state with class, humility, and dignity,’’ he said on social media. Graham also won the backing of Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who said Thursday that the senator “has shown she is willing to act – including supporting an end to the filibuster.” Evette accused Norman of putting “political games and his own agenda ahead of delivering for the President and the American people.” (Evette and Norman both unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for governor this year.) Norman has embraced the MAGA agenda, but as a fiscal hawk who is also a member of the hard-line Freedom Caucus, he has sometimes found himself at odds with the White House. He also backed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, though he endorsed Trump after Haley dropped out. A wealthy real estate developer who was first elected to the House in 2017, Norman received a noteworthy endorsement of his own this week: businessman Mark Lynch, who finished fourth in Tuesday’s primary. “Our country needs someone who will put America First, and the people of South Carolina have shown they are ready for a businessman and someone with a proven conservative record who will be their voice in Washington, D.C.” Lynch said in a statement.
