Lindsey Graham’s Sister Breaks From One Of His Defining Priorities

Darline Graham Nordone said that she would focus on domestic issues as she announced her decision to run to succeed her late brother in the Senate.

Nordone, appointed last week to finish out Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) term, told Fox News host Sean Hannity during an interview on Monday that she has decided to seek a full term in office. During the interview, Nordone said she would advocate for similar positions as her brother, but also suggested she would have a different focus.

“I’ve thought, and I prayed,” Nordone told Hannity. “He’s worked so hard for so long, I just, I can’t just let that die. I’ve got to step in and carry on his legacy. I know he cared about the people of South Carolina so deeply.”

Like her brother, Nordone said she would like to see Congress pass the Russia sanctions for which Graham had advocated before he died unexpectedly earlier this month. Doctors believe that Graham died of an aortic dissection related to underlying cardiovascular disease.

“I really wanted to push those across the finish line,” Nordone said of the sanctions.

Nordone, who works on the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, also suggested that if elected in her own right, she would focus more on domestic issues than national security.

“I used to see him on the talk shows. I would watch him, and I’d be like, ‘Lindsey, are you just talking about national security all the time?,'” she said. “And I understand that’s important. Protecting our borders, national security, absolutely.”

“I said, ‘But talk about also what matters to the average person. The price of groceries, the price of gas, health care. Insurance, those kinds of things.’ That’s what I’m worried about,” Nordone added.

Nordone said she was still reeling from her brother’s shocking death.

“I’m just taking it day by day. I am not gonna lie. It’s been tough, extremely tough. 
Lots of prayers, heartfelt messages from friends and family, colleagues really got me through this week,” she said. “It was like I was living a nightmare when I got the unexpected news. I was just, I can even tell you how devastated I was when I got that call.”

She didn’t have much time to process her thoughts before she was asked to finish out her brother’s term — and then encouraged to run in the special primary. The deadline to enter the race is July 28 and the special primary election is scheduled for August 11. Her decision to run came after President Donald Trump gave her his preemptive endorsement.

Several other Republicans have jumped into the special primary race, including Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry.