Annie Andrews flips South Carolina's Senate seat in a major upset
Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, was projected the winner of South Carolina's U.S. Senate race over Republican Sen. Darline Graham. The race trended on X. Graham had been appointed after the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Bias breakdown and outlet coverageon the RUSH story page →
The race call
NPR and CBS News reported Andrews defeated Graham, with NPR citing an Associated Press call. The Daily Caller said NBC News called the race late Tuesday with Andrews leading about 51 percent to 46.8 percent with votes still coming in. The Guardian and Mother Jones described the result as flipping a seat Republicans had held since Fritz Hollings's last win in 1998. Several outlets said Andrews is the first woman elected to the Senate from South Carolina.
How the seat opened
Graham was appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster to finish Lindsey Graham's term after his death in July and then sought a full term with President Trump's public backing, MS NOW, HuffPost and The Post Millennial reported. Pre-election polling averages still favored Graham by a few points, The Epoch Times and The Post Millennial reported, before the late tightening. ABC News tracked the live results page as the race was projected.
Why this matters
A Democratic Senate pickup in a state Trump carried by a wide margin in 2024 is a rare map break and adds to the chamber math. The race was also Tuesday's social-trending Senate story on X.
What the right is saying
Right-leaning outlets reported the loss as a blow in a state that had been expected to stay Republican, including The Daily Caller, The Post Millennial and The Epoch Times.
What the left is saying
Left-leaning outlets called it a monumental or historic upset and highlighted Trump's role in elevating Graham over other Republicans, including Mother Jones, HuffPost, the Guardian and NPR.