Republican · South Carolina Senate · 2026
Darline Graham
Graham lost both parents as a child, and her older brother, Lindsey, became her legal guardian when she was 13.
Biography
Darline Graham was 13 when her father died, a little more than a year after her mother.1 Her older brother, Lindsey, became her guardian and later adopted her so she could receive benefits through his Air Force service.1 She is now a wife and mother living in Lexington, South Carolina.2
A native of Central, Graham earned a sociology degree at the College of Charleston and a master's in rehabilitation counseling at South Carolina State.3 Her public service career included work at Clemson University, the state Department of Employment and Workforce and the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, spanning nearly three decades before her Senate appointment.2
She became commissioner of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind in 2019, leading work to help people with vision loss find employment and live independently.2 In July 2026, Governor Henry McMaster appointed her to finish Lindsey Graham's term following his death, making her the state's first female U.S. senator.2
In the Senate, she has backed proposals to restrict abortion medication and make the Hyde Amendment's abortion funding restrictions permanent.4 Her campaign also supports lower taxes, completing the border wall, workforce training and keeping rural hospitals open.5 After winning the Republican runoff in August, she faces Democrat Annie Andrews for a full term.6