Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC), President Donald Trump’s hand-picked candidate to succeed her late brother, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), survived a crowded Republican primary Tuesday, advancing to a runoff for the GOP nomination.
With less than half of the vote reported, Graham led the field of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/08/11/us/elections/results-south-carolina-us-senate-special-primary.html">eight other candidates</a> with roughly 30.5% of the vote, while Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Russell Fry (R-SC) are locked in a tight race for the second slot. <a href="https://x.com/DecisionDeskHQ/status/2087320545297572183?s=20">Decision Desk HQ</a> projected Graham would advance to the August 25 runoff at 7:28 p.m. ET.
Graham entered the special U.S. Senate race on July 20 following Trump’s enthusiastic endorsement, with the president encouraging Lindsey Graham’s sister to “RUN, DARLINE, RUN!” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term earlier this month.
Graham’s advancement to the runoff underscores the power of Trump’s influence in the Palmetto State, which helped propel a little-known candidate with a largely untested political record into the final two.
During a Republican debate, Graham <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/darline-graham-breaks-with-her-late-brother-on-another-key-issue">introduced herself to voters</a>, throwing her support behind a stalled effort to abolish the 60-vote threshold to pass the SAVE America Act.
“One of the first things I did was co-sponsor the SAVE America Act. As I said earlier, I’m willing to stay through recess to get it done. What’s up with recess anyway? Who gets a month off from work?” she asked, adding, “I think we should stay up there and work and get it done.”
“This is where I differ from my brother – getting rid of the filibuster to get this done, because eventually the Democrats are going to get rid of it anyway,” she said.
To ultimately prevail, Graham will have to consolidate support from the Republican voters who backed the other candidates eliminated from the primary. Norman, a conservative Republican who endorsed Nikki Haley in the 2024 presidential primary, has a long track record in South Carolina politics. He was first elected to Congress in a 2017 special election and previously served as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. 
“There’s nothing enormously special about him. But, you know what you’re going to get. He is a solid conservative voter,” Ryan Girdusky, a conservative political consultant, previously told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-pick-to-replace-lindsey-graham-faces-growing-gop-revolt?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=29&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump%E2%80%99s+Pick+To+Replace+Lindsey+Graham+Faces+Growing+GOP+Revolt">The Daily Wire.</a> 
Norman has secured endorsements from conservative Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Mike Lee (R-UT), as well as several Upstate sheriffs, while Fry, who represents South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, has won the backing of 40 Republican state legislators. Graham, meanwhile, has sought to strengthen her conservative credentials while leaning heavily on Trump’s MAGA base.
In a <a href="https://x.com/AdImpact_Pol/status/2085743817810972817?s=20">recent campaign ad</a>, Graham touted her pro-life beliefs and called for a ban on biological men competing in women’s sports as she made the case for carrying on her late brother’s legacy.
“Lindsey taught me public service isn&#8217;t about titles; it&#8217;s about helping people. President Trump asked me to run for the Senate to work with him on the issues we care about,” she said. “While I never wanted to be in this position. I&#8217;m ready to serve the people of South Carolina.” 
If elected, she would become the first woman from South Carolina to win a full term in the U.S. Senate.
Her brother, Lindsey, unexpectedly died last month at his Capitol Hill home in what the medical examiner’s office believes was an aortic dissection. Before collapsing, Graham reportedly told a staffer he was experiencing chest pain. Lindsey Graham had easily won his Republican primary in June before his sudden death upended the race.
“I think that the president was really in a state of grief. He loved Lindsey Graham,” Girdusky said. “And he picked her, you know, very, very, very quickly.”
 The winner of the August 25 Republican runoff will advance to the November general election in a seat that The Cook Political Report rates as Solid Republican.
This is a developing story. Stay with The Daily Wire for updates.

Darline Graham 8/5/26

Trump’s Endorsement Propels Darline Graham Into High-Stakes Senate Runoff

2026 elections

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent honored the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in their home state of South Carolina on Monday as Joint Base Charleston was renamed in the senator&#8217;s honor.
“Lindsey Graham believed that the first obligation of the federal government is to keep its people safe,” Bessent said. “To place his name upon a base dedicated to our defense is to join Lindsey’s memory to the cause that animated his entire life.”
Bessent said Graham’s legacy belonged at the newly renamed Joint Base Lindsey Graham precisely because the senator “never outgrew the people or the places that first claimed him as our own.”
“Few men have traveled greater distances without ever leaving home behind,” Bessent said.
Bessent described Joint Base Lindsey Graham as the backbone of the Air Force’s C-17 fleet, calling the aircraft &#8220;the workhorse of our air defense.&#8221; He drew a comparison to Graham’s work in the Senate.
“From today forward, these planes will have Joint Base Graham on their tails,&#8221; Bessent said. &#8220;A reminder that Senator Graham was the American people&#8217;s workhorse.” 
Bessent was joined by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who echoed his tribute and emphasized Graham&#8217;s battles against left-wing ideology in the military.
“Lindsey spent his final years taking on a radical leftist ideology that had run rampant in the media, in academia, and even among a few members of Congress,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth argued that left-wing ideology had “killed&#8221; military recruiting efforts. 
Graham <a href="https://www.ngaus.org/magazine/conversation-sen-lindsey-graham?utm_source=chatgpt.com">linked</a> the military’s recruiting and retention struggles to the armed forces’ increasingly “woke” reputation. Graham backed a defense bill that banned the military from paying for gender-affirming healthcare for its soldiers, imposed a hiring freeze on all individuals tied to DEI initiatives, redirected $50 million in DEI programming to countering the flow of narcotics, and swapped DEI onboarding training for comprehensive training on the U.S. Constitution. 
For most of his career, Graham traveled to international hot spots to immerse himself in foreign policy and national security. His political career built on his distinguished record in the United States Air Force, where he served on active duty as an Air Force lawyer. Graham was stationed at Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany before later joining the South Carolina Air National Guard.
A memo signed by Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink said the base was renamed after Graham to honor his “decades of distinguished service to the United States Congress and the United States Air Force.” 
Graham remained focused on foreign policy until the final days of his life. Shortly before his death, he traveled to Ukraine, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and pushed for tougher sanctions aimed at pressuring Russia to end its war in Ukraine.

Lindsey Graham’s Military Legacy Gets A Lasting Tribute

Pete Hegseth

Scott Bessent

South Carolina

Tribute

Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) on Monday called for eliminating the Senate filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, breaking with the position held by her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
During a Republican primary debate Monday night, Graham argued that Republicans should abolish the 60-vote threshold rather than wait for Democrats to do so first.
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&#8220;One of the first things I did was co-sponsor the SAVE America Act. As I said earlier, I’m willing to stay through recess to get it done. What’s up with recess anyway? Who gets a month off from work?&#8221; she asked, adding, &#8220;I think we should stay up there and work and get it done.&#8221;
&#8220;You have to have an ID to check out a library book, to buy alcohol, you don&#8217;t have to have an ID to vote? That&#8217;s absurd!&#8221; she continued.
Acknowledging the fact that her brother had always <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/12/trump-lindsey-graham-senate-whisperer-00994269">stopped short</a> of agreeing that the filibuster had to go, Graham argued — as many have — that Democrats were likely to get rid of it the moment they regained power.
&#8220;I am all for – this is where I differ from my brother – getting rid of the filibuster to get this done, because eventually the Democrats are going to get rid of it anyway,&#8221; she said.
Graham was appointed to the Senate after Lindsey Graham died in July from an aortic dissection. Just days later, with the full backing of President Donald Trump, she was sworn in and declared her intention to seek a full term in the U.S. Senate.
Monday&#8217;s debate had Graham facing off with her Republican opposition: Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Russell Fry (R-SC), businessman Mark Lynch and former Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC).
After Lynch aimed a series of attacks on the late senator, Graham jumped to her brother&#8217;s defense.
&#8220;Mr. Lynch mentioned Lindsey Graham multiple times, and I don’t know if he’s afraid that Lindsey beat him and now his little sister is going to beat him, but I just don’t like hearing that,&#8221; she said.
Graham said in a previous interview that she would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lindsey-grahams-sister-breaks-from-one-of-his-defining-priorities">break </a><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lindsey-grahams-sister-breaks-from-one-of-his-defining-priorities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">with her brother</a> in another way, saying she planned to focus more on kitchen-table issues than on foreign policy and national security, as he had.

Todd Blanche Mark Up TW

Darline Graham Breaks With Her Late Brother On Another Key Issue

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President Trump&#8217;s hand-picked candidate to succeed the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is facing growing trouble in the upcoming Republican primary, according to new polling and Republican strategists.
Darline Graham entered the U.S. Senate race on July 20 following Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/im-in-lindsey-grahams-sister-makes-it-official">enthusiastic endorsement</a>, with the president encouraging Lindsey Graham&#8217;s sister to &#8220;RUN, DARLINE, RUN!&#8221; South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster appointed her to serve out the rest of her brother&#8217;s term earlier this month. 
“I’m in,” Nordone told Fox News, acknowledging “a tremendous amount of pressure” around the decision. “I have been praying a lot, talking to my family, but with the love of my family, with the support of his staff, I know I’m a hard worker… I worked for almost 30 years for the people of this state, I feel like I can do it,” she said. 
Her optimism, however, is running up against new polling and growing skepticism that enough South Carolina Republicans are comfortable with Graham&#8217;s experience and policy credentials to send her to the U.S. Senate for a full six-year term.
“This is a woman who no one heard of at all before, and I think that that hurts her in a certain way,” Republican political consultant Ryan Girdusky said in an interview with The Daily Wire. “She&#8217;s a largely unknown entity. I mean, no one really knows her except the fact that she&#8217;s Lindsey Graham&#8217;s sister.” 
In a <a href="https://x.com/DarlineGrahamSC/status/2082808644773503145?s=20">new campaign ad</a>, Graham attempted to dispel those concerns, touting her pro-life beliefs, backing the SAVE America Act, and calling for a ban on biological men competing in women&#8217;s sports.
“I am a conservative Republican,” she said, touting Trump’s endorsement. “I approve this message, and I’m ready to serve.” 
New <a href="https://emersoncollegepolling.com/south-carolina-2026-norman-graham-lead-gop-special-primary-runoff-likely/">Emerson College polling</a> released Thursday shows Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) leading the crowded Republican field with 22% support. Darline Graham Nordone trails at 19%, followed by Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) at 12% and former GovernorMark Sanford at 11%. Nine candidates have been certified for the August 11 primary, while roughly 25% of voters remain undecided, according to the survey. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to an <a href="https://scvotes.gov/u-s-senate-special-republican-party-filing-primary/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">August 25 runoff</a>. 
The poll also suggests that President Trump&#8217;s political clout may not be enough to carry Graham over the finish line. A majority of voters — 53% — said Trump&#8217;s endorsement would have no impact on their vote, while 29% said it made them more likely to support Graham. Another 18% said the endorsement made them less likely to back her candidacy.
“You&#8217;re only going to have hyper-engaged people showing up. That doesn&#8217;t always speak well for the president&#8217;s base, which can be very high level, high levels of low propensity [voters] in the mix,” Girdusky said. “If Darline Graham is counting on solely the president&#8217;s supporters to carry across the finish line, it&#8217;s a very tough, tough road.&#8221; 
Rep. Ralph Norman, who endorsed Nikki Haley in the 2024 presidential primary, has a <a href="https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/15032448994?utm_source=chatgpt.com">long track record</a> in South Carolina politics. He was first elected to Congress in a special election in 2017 and served as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2005 to 2007 and again from 2009 to 2017. 
“There&#8217;s nothing enormously special about him. But he, you know what you&#8217;re going to get. He is a solid conservative voter,” Girdusky said.
Norman has lined up endorsements from conservative Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Mike Lee (R-UT), along with several Upstate sheriffs, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/30/conservatives-skeptical-darline-graham-south-carolina-senate-race/">Washington Post</a> reported. Fry has won the support of 40 Republican state legislators. 
<a href="https://www.dgraham.senate.gov/">Darline Graham</a> earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the College of Charleston and a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from South Carolina State University. She later worked as a vocational rehabilitation counselor and served as head of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. If elected, she would be the first woman from South Carolina to be elected to the upper chamber. 
Her brother, Lindsey, unexpectedly died earlier this month at his Capitol Hill home in what the medical examiner’s office believes was an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lindsey-graham-medical-examiner-releases-preliminary-cause-of-death">aortic dissection</a>. Before collapsing, Graham reportedly told a staffer he was experiencing chest pain. Graham had easily won his Republican primary in June before his sudden death upended the race. 
“I think that the president was really in a state of grief. He loved Lindsey Graham,” Girdusky said. “And he picked her, you know, very, very, very quickly.”
<a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/senate/race/488671">The Cook Political Report</a> rates the seat as Solid Republican going into November.

Briefing of US Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal in Kyiv

Trump’s Pick To Replace Lindsey Graham Faces Growing GOP Revolt

Darine Graham

Darline Graham Nordone

Midterms

The state and mood of Washington, D.C. this week are a combination of dire and surreal. The surreal came in the form of the funeral for Lindsey Graham, a rare politician of actual note in this day and age of politicos who are good at winning elections, toeing the line, and remaining consistently unrecognizable as having any effect on national policy. (Did you know that Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) has been in office since Princess Diana was still alive? Wild.)
The event was, as is typical for the nation&#8217;s capital city, reduced to a pathetic networking session of smiles and handshakes between journos and politicians, lawyers and lobbyists, with the additional Kremlinology of who got to sit where and why. Everyone was on their phones between songs of generic holiness, stuck to the uncomfortable confines of worn brown National Cathedral chairs in the purportedly religious house that has the acoustics of a Wawa and whose respect for holiness is embodied by the head of <a href="https://cathedral.org/discover/fun-facts/">Darth Vader</a> perched atop its Northwest Tower, as predicted by the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Luke%2019:40">Gospel of Luke</a>. For this, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) wore a suit?
What was remarkable about the Graham funeral was how little resemblance it bore to the man it claimed to honor. Instead, it was a tribute isolated to a single relationship confined to the last seven years of Graham’s 31-year career in Washington: his political friendship with President Donald Trump. It was a connection built on Graham’s belief that, in the absence of his longtime foreign policy allies John McCain and Joe Lieberman, he had to make the best of things — becoming a quarterback whisperer in an offensive scheme he never thought he’d have to run. The decision reaped benefits, for Graham and for Trump — the former an old hand at driving policy in the Republican conference, the latter a political neophyte who didn’t know whom to trust or how to move legislation beyond a Truth Social post.
The tributes from the front of the Cathedral focused on an appeal to the Commander-in-Chief in the front row and left his longtime friends unmentioned. The program wasn’t marked by any of his longtime political allies from his home in South Carolina. Take the world leaders out of the equation in the attending crowd, and it could’ve been a funeral for any Republican senator. The oddity of it all is that, unlike so many others, Graham’s absence is likely to be immediately felt, and felt the most by Trump’s White House, whose relationship with Capitol Hill, already strained with contention and resentment, is only going to get worse.
The following day brought another insult to holiness with the circus of the Anthony Fauci hearing. The fish in the barrel claimed the Fifth the entire time, and senators expressed their undying love and affection (on the Democratic side) and their utter contempt for his lying, self-dealing, and pompous assumption of the seat of the Pope of Science. Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) blond gum-chewing staffer went viral. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) channeled the fury of millions of Americans. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) said a swear word. None of this will be of any consequence.
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This is where Republicans find themselves: looking back in anger, without delivering anything of substance. They’re still fighting the last war. Democrats are crazy socialists who haven’t stopped being crazy; in fact, they’ve gotten even crazier. But that’s not good enough to win, despite the insistence of too-online right-wingers that they can run that play back one more time to buck decades of historical midterm trends. Four in 10 voters say they want “<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox-news-poll-voters-want-major-change-amid-economic-political-discontent">revolutionary</a>” change from this election. Do you think they care about people movers at Washington Dulles Airport? Do you think they give a sh*t if James Talarico rents a truck?
That brings us to the dire mood in the capital city. House Republicans had already been planning their exit strategy and shopping for their next homes and jobs. Senate Republicans have only just noticed that they are headed in the same direction: off a cliff, at rapid speed. President Trump’s approval rating is 33% in the latest AP poll. Democratic Senate candidates currently lead in North Carolina and Georgia — where Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has promised to spend an enormous amount of cash — and are within the margin of error in Ohio and Texas, which were supposed to be red states the last time we checked. Every bout at the White House’s UFC sideshow ended in a knockout. This may not even be that close.
The realization on the eve of August that the blue tidal wave could hit the Senate, too, has come too late to do much about the outcome except bitch about the damn war. And what comes after? We all know what it looks like for D.C.: committee circuses, impeachment of Cabinet figures, and lawfare targeting the president’s family and allies to a degree that will make the Joe Biden years look sleepy and innocuous. For the Left? A dramatically emboldened socialist wing, with the force multiplier of eager and willing new entrants from safe seats, all looking to make a national name for themselves. And for the Right? Two years of vindictive bloodletting and horror, blame and revisionism, and a level of factional strife that will have the city turning back to all the old &#8220;Game of Thrones&#8221; episodes, lacking as we are in newer references in the post-peak TV era.
The Republican Party was emboldened by Donald Trump’s victory in 2024. But from election night on, it made the mistake of thinking that victory for the Right was fundamental. It may turn out to be the exception before the Left&#8217;s new and dangerous rule. Buckle up.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-GOVERNMENT-SHUTDOWN

D.C. Republicans Think They’re Going To Lose. They’re Probably Right.

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The Senate overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan sanctions package targeting Russia and Iran on Tuesday, passing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by an 86-12 vote just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and attended the funeral of the bill&#8217;s namesake.
The legislation, named in honor of the late South Carolina GOP senator, represents one of the final initiatives Graham worked to secure before his unexpected death earlier this month. Graham had spent the days leading up to his passing negotiating the measure with the White House after returning from a trip to Ukraine.
The vote came after Zelensky personally lobbied senators during a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill before final passage. Zelensky traveled to Washington both to attend Graham&#8217;s funeral and to press lawmakers to approve the sanctions package aimed at increasing pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Following the meeting, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), one of the bill&#8217;s lead sponsors, <a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/news-conference/sens-blumenthal-britt-shaheen-wicker-risch-after-meeting-with-ukrainian-pres-zelensky/683470">said to reporters</a>, “This bill is the one that will pass. This bill is the one that the President will sign. We want a law, not just a bill.&#8221; Blumenthal added that “it sends a message to Putin: your days of war are numbered. You are on the losing side.&#8221;
The legislation would impose sweeping new sanctions on Russian political officials, oligarchs, financial institutions and the so-called Russian &#8220;shadow fleet&#8221; used to evade existing sanctions. It also authorizes secondary sanctions and tariff authority targeting countries that continue purchasing large quantities of Russian oil and gas, one of the Kremlin&#8217;s primary sources of wartime revenue.
In addition to Russia, the bill extends sanctions targeting Iran&#8217;s energy and weapons sectors through 2031, preserving restrictions that were otherwise set to expire this year. Senators agreed to combine the Russia and Iran sanctions into a single package after weeks of negotiations. 
Supporters described the measure as a fitting tribute to Graham, who was among the Senate&#8217;s most outspoken advocates for Ukraine throughout Russia&#8217;s invasion. &#8220;There is no greater way to honor Senator Graham&#8217;s legacy than to move forward with this bipartisan agreement,&#8221; the bill&#8217;s bipartisan sponsors said in a <a href="https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/bipartisan-group-of-senators-announce-agreement-to-move-forward-on-major-sanctions-legislation">joint statement</a> before Tuesday&#8217;s vote.
The measure drew opposition from a much smaller group of bipartisan senators.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who frequently opposes sanctions legislation on libertarian grounds, joined 11 Democrats voting against the bill. Democratic opponents cited concerns over the legislation&#8217;s tariff provisions rather than the sanctions themselves. &#8220;I support Zelensky,&#8221; Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) <a href="https://x.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/2082249948972617951">said</a> after voting no. &#8220;We&#8217;re all on board on the sanctions &#8230; But why do we need the tariff power in there right now?&#8221; 
Despite those objections, the legislation secured well above the 60 votes needed to pass, underscoring broad bipartisan support for increasing economic pressure on Russia as the war in Ukraine continues.
The House is not expected to consider the legislation until lawmakers return from the August recess. If approved there, the bill will head to President Donald Trump&#8217;s desk for his signature.

Senate Honors Lindsey Graham, Passes New Russia Sanctions

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday eulogized the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as &#8220;the giant of the United States Senate&#8221; whose unwavering belief in American strength defined both his public career and his personal life, telling mourners gathered at Washington National Cathedral that the longtime South Carolina Republican &#8220;felt in his bones that our destiny is to win.&#8221;
Speaking before a congregation that included Vice President JD Vance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, members of Trump&#8217;s Cabinet and congressional leaders from both parties, the president remembered Graham as one of the U.S. Senate&#8217;s defining figures whose influence stretched far beyond Capitol Hill.
&#8220;The giant of the United States Senate, a true American original who left us much too soon,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Nothing of consequence happened in this capital without Lindsey Graham knowing about it. Nothing of significance happened anywhere in the world without Lindsey Graham having a view on it.&#8221;
Trump centered much of his remarks on Graham&#8217;s worldview, describing the late senator&#8217;s foreign policy philosophy as one rooted in projecting American strength abroad. &#8220;Above all, Lindsey Graham believed in a strong America,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;He had unwavering faith in the righteousness of American power and prayer. &#8230; He felt in his bones that our destiny is to win — and that his job was to do everything he could to ensure our enemies would lose.&#8221; 
Trump said that conviction motivated Graham&#8217;s 33 years of military service in the Air Force and Air National Guard, as well as his frequent overseas travel as a senator. &#8220;It was this conviction that took him as a senator to almost every country on earth, confronting America&#8217;s adversaries and standing up for America&#8217;s friends,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a testament to his towering impact that among those mourning him here today are leaders, presidents, prime ministers from all over the globe.&#8221;
The president also reflected on his unlikely friendship with Graham, recalling their bitter rivalry during the 2016 Republican presidential primary before the two became close political allies. &#8220;We became great friends, and Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years,&#8221; Trump joked. &#8220;I always cherished the memories of our golf games.&#8221;
Trump acknowledged Graham&#8217;s reputation as one of the Senate&#8217;s most hawkish members while framing it as an extension of his patriotism. &#8220;He was extremely hawkish. I will tell you, he never saw a war that he didn&#8217;t like,&#8221; Trump said to laughter. &#8220;Only his true friends would understand that — but he wanted it for the good of our country.&#8221;
Fox News host Sean Hannity, one of Graham&#8217;s closest friends, echoed many of those themes during his own eulogy, rejecting criticism that Graham was a warmonger. &#8220;The truth was the opposite,&#8221; Hannity said. &#8220;Lindsey desperately wanted a lasting peace in the Middle East.&#8221; Hannity argued that Graham&#8217;s support for a strong military stemmed from what he called the senator&#8217;s &#8220;moral clarity.&#8221;
&#8220;He understood right from wrong, good from evil,&#8221; Hannity said. &#8220;He knew &#8230; there can be no path to peace until evil is defeated.&#8221; The longtime television host also reflected on Graham&#8217;s decades of military service, his devotion to South Carolina, and his friendship with Trump, saying the president had given Graham &#8220;the greatest gift of his life&#8221; by allowing him &#8220;a front-row seat at the highest levels of history.&#8221;
Graham&#8217;s niece, Emillie Boggs Roberts, offered a more personal portrait of the senator, reflecting on his deep pride in his family and the relationships that shaped him away from public life. She described him as more than an uncle or senator, but &#8220;the foundation of our family.&#8221; 
Roberts recalled how he became both brother and parent to her mother after their parents died, and said that despite decades in national politics, Graham never failed to prioritize his family, making time for holidays, vacations, graduations, hospital visits, and phone calls from home, no matter what demands awaited him in Washington.
The funeral concluded ahead of Graham&#8217;s burial in South Carolina, where the longtime senator will be laid to rest after more than three decades in Congress.

Services Held For Late Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham Funeral

Trump Honors Lindsey Graham: ‘The Giant Of The United States Senate’

Benjamin Netanyahu

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Sean Hannity

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Ukraine-Russia War

WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance eulogized the late Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) from the United States Capitol on Tuesday, describing Graham as a &#8220;true American original&#8221; and a great statesman who deeply loved his fellow Americans.
Vance spoke in the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday morning as he and his fellow Republicans honored the life of the late senator, who suddenly died earlier in July at the age of 71.
The vice president offered his deep sympathy and condolences to Graham&#8217;s family and staff, telling them, &#8220;I know so many of you loved Lindsey like I did. So many of you argued with Lindsey, laughed with Lindsey, relied on Lindsey.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/watch-live-lindsey-graham-honored-in-solemn-capito?contentProgram=Daily%20Wire%20News&amp;contentType=ShowEpisode&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel">WATCH: Lindsay Graham Honored In Solemn Capitol Ceremony</a>
&#8220;Lindsey Graham loved people from all walks of life,&#8221; he reflected. &#8220;I think in part because of the way that he grew up, because of the fact that he wasn&#8217;t handed everything. He was fascinated in everybody. He was fascinated in the wait staff in the Senate dining room. He was fascinated in the people who made the food. He was fascinated in the lowest staffer who had been hired three days earlier. He was fascinated by, of course, the very leadership of our country.&#8221;
&#8220;I think he was fascinated in people because he loved people and he was interested in them,&#8221; he added, describing Graham as the kind of person who &#8220;treated everybody the same because he was fascinated and he loved every single person in this chamber.&#8221;
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<div id="attachment_1145319" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jd-vance-eulogizes-lindsey-graham-a-true-american-original/services-held-for-late-republican-south-carolina-senator-lindsey-graham-funeral" rel="attachment wp-att-1145319"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1145319" class="wp-image-1145319 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2287367147-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2287367147-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2287367147-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2287367147-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2287367147.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>Photographer: Win McNamee/Getty Images/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
Vance shared that he first met Graham when he was on the campaign trail for his Senate race in 2022. He recalled driving in the back of the car with Graham, heading from campaign event to campaign event with the late senator, seeing firsthand how invested Graham was in his fellow Americans, and experiencing Graham&#8217;s &#8220;world-class sense of humor.&#8221;
On the campaign trail, ahead of one of Graham&#8217;s hits on Fox News, Vance asked the South Carolina senator to direct people to his website. Vance joked: &#8220;Over a four-minute interview, he must have mentioned JDVance.com close to a dozen times. The host would ask, &#8216;How was the weather?&#8217; And Lindsey would say, &#8216;Well before I check the weather, I always go to JDVance.com.&#8217; And in a four- or five-minute TV appearance, Lindsey Graham raised us over $100,000.&#8221;
&#8220;That swashbuckling, infectious laugh, that attitude, that passion that so many others have talked about,&#8221; Vance shared. &#8220;Lindsey Graham was impossible not to like as a human being and, of course, as a United States senator.&#8221;
Vance recalled getting into a huge argument with Graham about a funding bill for Ukraine during a Senate lunch. Afterwards, he said, he went back to his staff and told them he had probably lost Graham&#8217;s vote on important rail legislation he was working on. Later on, he found out that the &#8220;fiercest advocate of that bill behind the scenes was Senator Lindsey Graham.&#8221;
&#8220;I went to Lindsey and I said, &#8216;Why are you helping me? Why are you helping this legislation?&#8217; And I expected him to do what so many politicians would do. I expected him to lie and say, &#8216;Well, I really care about rail legislation.&#8217; And he said, &#8216;I don&#8217;t care about that at all.&#8217; I said, &#8216;Why are you helping me?&#8217; And he said, &#8216;Well, I don&#8217;t care about it, but you do.'&#8221;
&#8220;And that was the kind of colleague he could be,&#8221; Vance added. &#8220;A person you argued with and fought with in one minute but behind the scenes, without collecting an ounce of credit, was working for you and working for the things that you cared about in the next. That was who Lindsey Graham was.&#8221;
Vance credited Graham with helping Justice Brett Kavanaugh make it through his Supreme Court confirmation, describing the late senator as a &#8220;fierce&#8221; advocate for the embattled Supreme Court justice nominee, swaying other senators with his passionate defense of Kavanaugh.
&#8220;I believe he saved that nomination,&#8221; Vance said.
&#8220;He saw that the Senate at its very worst could be a venue for character assassination,&#8221; the vice president said. &#8220;But because he loved people, he saw that the Senate at its very best could be a deliberative body geared towards persuading people. And that&#8217;s what Lindsey Graham did in that case and in so many others.&#8221;
&#8220;I choose to remember Lindsey Graham as a man who could disagree with you without being disagreeable,&#8221; Vance said. &#8220;I choose to remember Lindsey Graham as a person who could fight with you on one issue but fight for you on another issue. I remember Lindsey Graham as a man who loved people. And because he loved people, he was willing to reason with them, to respect them, and ultimately to persuade them.&#8221;
&#8220;May God comfort all of those who loved Lindsey Graham, particularly his beautiful family,&#8221; Vance concluded. &#8220;And may God rest the soul of Senator Lindsey Graham, a true American original.&#8221;

Late Senator Lindsey Graham Memorialized In Washington DC

JD Vance Eulogizes Lindsey Graham: ‘A True American Original’

Death

JD Vance

The Air Force has begun the process of renaming Joint Base Charleston after the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, according to an internal memo.
In a <a href="https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/joint-base-charleston-lindsey-graham-renamed/article_726ccdef-62eb-4101-a1f8-5f4c3b3c84a5.html">memo</a> obtained by The Post and Courier dated July 27, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink directed staff and leadership at the South Carolina base to take “all necessary and appropriate actions” to change the name of Joint Base Charleston to Joint Base Lindsey Graham. 
Meink attributed the change to Sen. Graham’s “decades of distinguished service” to both Congress and the Air Force.
“Senator Graham’s lifelong devotion to the military was shaped by his own military service and his public service in both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives,” Meink said in the letter. “His steadfast advocacy was instrumental in modernizing our military infrastructure and enhancing aviation security, ensuring that Joint Base Charleston remains as one of America’s premier military installations.”
The renaming reflects Graham&#8217;s contributions to the base since its creation in 2010. After the merging of the Charleston Air Force Base and the Naval Weapons Station Charleston to make the soon-to-be Joint Base Lindsey Graham, the late South Carolina senator helped direct hundreds of millions of dollars to support missions from the station.
In May, Graham <a href="https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2026/5/graham-welcomes-over-200-million-investment-in-u-s">assisted in securing</a> an additional $212 million in funding to boost “Coast Guard readiness” at Joint Base Charleston.
After attending law school, Sen. Graham served in the Air Force for 33 years before retiring as a colonel in 2015. He served in the Senate from 2003 until his passing earlier this month. Throughout his time there, he was one of the chamber&#8217;s most vocal advocates for an assertive U.S. foreign policy, championing NATO and transatlantic ties and pushing hard for Ukraine&#8217;s defense against Russia. 
Though an early critic of Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, Graham later became a trusted foreign-policy adviser to President Trump, helping shape decisions on issues from Syria to sanctions against Russia.
The late senator’s funeral is being held Tuesday in Washington, D.C., with a second service taking place in South Carolina on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
Joint Base Charleston is currently home to the active-duty 437th Airlift Wing as well as the Air Force Reserve’s 315th Airlift Wing. It also serves as the Navy’s primary East Coast site to train nuclear submarine operators and is home to the nation&#8217;s largest fleet of C-17 cargo jets.

US Senators Visit Kyiv

Military Base To Be Renamed To Honor Lindsey Graham

Joint Base Charleston To Be Re-Named To Honor Lindsey Graham

Air Force

Joint Base Charleston

Republicans appear to support a bipartisan bill led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), but the legislation remains stalled amid reported concerns that giving the Democratic socialist a legislative victory could fuel her presidential ambitions.  
<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1837/text">The DEFIANCE Act</a> (Disrupt Explicit Forged Images And Non-Consensual Edits Act) would create a federal civil cause of action allowing victims of non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes to sue those who create or distribute fake nude or sexual images without their consent. 
Under the bill, victims could recover up to $250,000 in damages in cases involving sexual assault, stalking, or harassment, earning support from leftists, conservative Republicans, and Hollywood figures such as Paris Hilton.
AOC first introduced the legislation last year. In January, the U.S. Senate passed it unanimously.
“I want to thank the Senate cosponsors of this legislation, including my Republican co-lead, Senator Lindsey Graham,” Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) <a href="https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-successfully-passes-bill-to-combat-nonconsensual-sexually-explicit-deepfake-images">said</a> at the time. “Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez herself is a publicly confessed victim of explicit deepfakes. I commend her for working to create tools for victims in the fight against this despicable crime.” 
Despite bipartisan support, the bill remains stalled in the Republican-led House. <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2026/07/23/paris-hilton-and-the-politics-of-defiance-01009283?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=5c65d8fa-b7c7-44e5-98d0-43e6086e71cd">Politico reported</a> Thursday that some Republicans worry passing AOC&#8217;s legislation could hand the New York congresswoman a political victory as she emerges as a potential 2028 presidential contender. 
“It’s a shame that this bill isn’t law because they are unwilling to give AOC a win,” one person working on the bill told the outlet. “When you look at it, everything is aligned for it to pass, except that they don’t want her to have this.”
“We’re depriving many, many people of the ability to set their lives right just to prevent one member of Congress from being able to pass a bill,” another person said, according to Politico. 
Ocasio-Cortez has blamed the delay on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH). Earlier this month,<a href="https://x.com/EricMGarcia/status/2077191769477791989?s=20"> she told The Independent</a> that the bill passed the Senate unanimously with Republican support, adding that people should &#8220;ask Jim Jordan&#8221; why it has yet to advance.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters Tuesday that he supports the legislation but was unsure of its status in committee, according to Politico. 
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-passes-melania-backed-bill-to-fight-deepfake-revenge-porn">TAKE IT DOWN Act</a>, championed by first lady Melania Trump, into law. The measure criminalizes the non-consensual online distribution of intimate images, including AI-generated deepfakes.
The impasse comes days after a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-new-2028-poll-just-shook-up-both-parties?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=5&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=A+New+2028+Poll+Just+Shook+Up+Both+Parties">New Hampshire primary poll</a> signaled an early shake-up in the 2028 Democratic presidential race, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) leading the field.
The Granite State Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, shows the Democratic socialist leading the hypothetical Democratic field with 22% support, narrowly ahead of former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 21%. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) placed third with 9%. 
“You know polls are polls, and a horse race is a horse race,” AOC <a href="https://x.com/EricMGarcia/status/2080038582211821579?s=20">said</a> in response. “I am, of course, I think very deeply humbled and grateful to you know folks who participate and convey that confidence.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
👀👀👀 AOC on a poll showing her leading in a 2028 primary in New Hampshire:
&#8220;One is that you know polls are polls, and a horse race is a horse race. I am, of course, I think very deeply humbled and grateful to you know folks who participate and convey that confidence.&#8221;
&#8220;I… <a href="https://t.co/fSXAOC0AGO">pic.twitter.com/fSXAOC0AGO</a>
— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) <a href="https://x.com/EricMGarcia/status/2080038582211821579?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2026</a></blockquote>

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Artificial Intelligence

Congress

Deepfakes

Democrats

Dick Durbin

Jim Jordan

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Politico

Sen. Darline Graham&#8217;s (R-SC) odds of winning South Carolina&#8217;s special Republican primary skyrocketed from 14% to 80% in four days after President Donald Trump endorsed her, according to the prediction market Kalshi.
CNN data analyst Harry Enten argued Tuesday that Trump&#8217;s endorsement has made Graham the overwhelming favorite in the August 11 special Republican primary to fill the seat left vacant by the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Darline Graham&#8217;s now the favorite in SC. Why? Trump&#8217;s endorsement = most powerful I&#8217;ve ever seen.
In senate primaries with no elected incumbent, his picks have won ~95% since 2022 &amp; 100% in 2026.
His own party approval is highest this century for a prez at this pt in term 2. <a href="https://t.co/urpkkeI9vd">pic.twitter.com/urpkkeI9vd</a>
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) <a href="https://x.com/ForecasterEnten/status/2079616190679339503?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Darline Graham&#8217;s chances have rocketed up because rarely has the power of one man and his endorsements in primaries been as strong with Donald Trump,&#8221; Enten explained. He went on to cite the odds posted by Kalshi, which had Graham at 14% on July 17 and 80% just four days later — and he noted that the one major change in the interim was Trump&#8217;s endorsement, given before Graham had even declared her intent to seek a full term in office.
&#8220;Now, that&#8217;s not 100%,&#8221; Enten conceded, adding, &#8220;But it&#8217;s way, way higher than 14%. She&#8217;s the clear favorite to fill that seat, or at least win the primary.&#8221;
Enten noted that Graham was not an outlier, pointing to a number of recent primary races in which Trump had played kingmaker.
&#8220;When it comes to Senate primaries, Donald Trump&#8217;s record is magnificent,&#8221; he told anchor John Berman. &#8220;Since 2022, it&#8217;s about 95% of the time. This year, in fewer races, it&#8217;s 100% of the time. No wonder why the prediction markets and the conventional wisdom have moved so rapidly once Trump made that endorsement!&#8221;
Trump&#8217;s weight in recent primaries has been nearly insurmountable as candidate after candidate has soared to victory following a nod from the White House — and Graham now appears poised to follow suit in the August special primary for a seat Republicans are expected to retain in November.

Graham’s Sister Sworn-In To US Senate Days After His Death

Lindsey Graham’s Sister Surges To Frontrunner Status On Back Of Trump Endorsement

Lindsey Graham's Sister Surges To Frontrunner Status On Back Of Trump Endorsement

Endorsement

Harry Enten

Kalshi

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 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF6f0V_4Tao">interview</a> 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&#8217;ve thought, and I prayed,” Nordone told Hannity. “He&#8217;s worked so hard for so long, I just, I can&#8217;t just let that die. I&#8217;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.
&#8220;I used to see him on the talk shows. I would watch him, and I&#8217;d be like, ‘Lindsey, are you just talking about national security all the time?,'&#8221; she said. &#8220;And I understand that&#8217;s important. Protecting our borders, national security, absolutely.&#8221;
&#8220;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&#8217;s what I&#8217;m worried about,” Nordone added.
Nordone said she was still reeling from her brother’s shocking death.
“I&#8217;m just taking it day by day. I am not gonna lie. It&#8217;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.

Darline Graham Nordone Is Ceremonially Sworn In To Take Her Brother Lindsey Graham’s Senate Seat

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

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