By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-06-10 01:25:51 | Updated at 2026-06-10 18:01:10
16 hours ago
Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham avoided an embarrassing runoff Tuesday night after attracting five GOP rivals and receiving heat for his steadfast support of the Iran war.
The Associated Press called the race for Graham at 8:57 pm ET.
Graham was always on track for reelection in the bright red southern state, but ahead of Tuesday's primary, it was up in the air whether he would have to compete in the state's runoff on June 23.
Trump had endorsed Graham and held a tele-rally in his honor Monday night, just ahead of Election Day, in order to get out the vote.
Graham was primarily challenged by businessman Mark Lynch, but Calvin Cowen, Thomas Dismukes, Pat Herrmann and Darius Mitchell also appeared on the ballot.
As the race was called, Graham was receiving around 58 percent of the vote to Lynch's 27 percent, easily above the 50 percent he would need to avoid the runoff.
Graham was aided by another challenger dropping out, former Heritage Foundation official Paul Dans, the architect of the controversial 'Project 2025,' who pulled out in April.
Trump cheered Dans's exit, calling an endorsement from former Fox News talking head Tucker Carlson 'THE KISS OF DEATH.'
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (left) attracted several GOP primary rivals as he's taken heat for his Iran war stance, with businessman Mark Lynch (right) being the most potent. On Tuesday, Graham avoided a runoff against Lynch
Lynch also attracted the President's ire.
Trump called Lynch a 'LUNATIC' and pointed out that he was supportive of Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, who lost his primary to a Trump-backed candidate last month.
Lynch had applauded both Massie and former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who left Congress after a high-profile spat with Trump over the Epstein files, among other things.
At the same time, Lynch was still complimentary of Trump during his run.
While campaigning, he took on Graham's hawkish stance for the Iran war, especially as the conflict drags on and South Carolinians are paying the price at the gas pump.
He attracted the support of Dans, who posted to X on Election Day: 'Today is Liberation Day South Carolina. Vote Mark Lynch and send Lady Graham off into the sunset.'
Trump's first national security adviser, General Michael Flynn, also pushed to have Graham ousted.
'Decades in Washington and what does South Carolina have to show for it?' he asked, claiming that Graham supported 'open borders' and 'endless foreign wars.'
A supporter of Democratic South Carolina hopeful Dr Annie Andrews holds up an anti-Graham sign at an event in Columbia, South Carolina in late May. Andrews easily won the Democratic nomination in Tuesday's primary race
Former Representative Ron Paul, the father of Kentucky's libertarian-leaning Senator Rand Paul and a leader of the liberty movement while a member of Congress, echoed Flynn's sentiment.
'Will South Carolina finally reject the notorious warmonger in favor of a self-professed "real American first" businessman?' the elder Paul asked in a social media post.
The Citadel Poll conducted in late May showed Lynch dragging Graham below the 50 percent threshold and thus triggering a potential runoff.
Pollsters only asked voters to choose between Graham and Lynch and found that 46 percent backed Graham and 36 percent supported Lynch.
This cycle, Democrats have coalesced around Dr Annie Andrews.
Andrews easily won her primary, with the AP making the race call at 8:31 pm ET.
Democrats bankrolled Graham's last general election opponent, Jaime Harrison, who later became the Democratic National Committee chair, during the 2020 cycle.
Despite spending more than $130 million on the run, Harrison still fell short, losing to Graham six years ago 44 percent to the incumbent's 54 percent.
South Carolina's last Democratic senator was Fritz Hollings, who represented the state in the upper chamber from 1966 to 2005.
