2026 United States Senate election in South Carolina

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2026 United States Senate election in South Carolina
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Party Republican Democratic
Incumbent U.S. senator

Lindsey Graham
Republican



The 2026 United States Senate election in South Carolina will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of South Carolina. Primary elections will be held on June 9, 2026, with a runoff election on June 23 if no candidate wins a majority in their respective primary. Incumbent four-term Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who was re-elected in 2020, is running for a fifth term in office. [1]

Contents

Background

South Carolina is generally considered to be a Republican stronghold, having not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1998. Republican nominee Donald Trump won South Carolina in 2020 by 12 percentage points, and in 2024 grew his margin to 18 percentage points. Republicans control every statewide office (except the state's comptroller office), supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature, both U.S. Senate seats, and all but one seat in South Carolina's U.S. House congressional delegation. [2] [3]

Senator Lindsey Graham was first elected in 2002, defeating Democrat Alex Sanders by about 10 percentage points. He was re-elected in 2008, 2014, and most recently in 2020 defeating Jamie Harrison by 10 percentage points in what was expected to be a dead heat. [4] In January 2025, he declared that he was running for reelection. [5]

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Filed paperwork

  • Ethan Holliman, graduate student [10]

Withdrawn

Declined

Endorsements

Lindsey Graham

U.S. executive branch officials

U.S. senators

Statewide officials

Organizations

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025
CandidateRaisedSpentCash on hand
Lindsey Graham (R)$17,380,215$14,254,882$15,616,791
Ethan Holliman (R)$20,270$20,270$0
Mark Lynch (R)$5,280,952$195,110$5,085,841
Source: Federal Election Commission [17]

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		Lindsey
Graham		Mark
Lynch		OtherUndecided
Quantus Insights (R) [18] [19] [A] June 10–13, 2025600 (RV)± 3.8%48%23%–29%
Pulse Opinion Research (R) [20] [B] May 15–21, 20251,062 (LV)–43%29%5%23%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Filed paperwork

  • Christopher Giracello [25]

Potential

Withdrawn

  • Lee Johnson, engineer [27]

Endorsements

Annie Andrews
Individuals
Organizations
Lee Johnson (withdrawn)

State legislators

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025
CandidateRaisedSpentCash on hand
Annie Andrews (D)$1,249,437$577,561$671,876
Catherine Fleming Bruce (D)$0$0$5,030
Kyle Freeman (D)$34,491$33,837$654
Source: Federal Election Commission [17]

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Filed paperwork

  • Kasie Whitener, assistant professor [32]

Independents

Candidates

Filed paperwork

Publicly expressed interest

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
Inside Elections [37] Solid RAugust 12, 2025
The Cook Political Report [38] Solid RAugust 18, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball [39] Safe RAugust 12, 2025
Race To The WH [40] Likely RSeptember 4, 2025

Notes

  1. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

Partisan clients

  1. ↑ Poll sponsored by Trending Politics, a conservative news website
  2. ↑ Poll commissioned by Lynch's campaign

References

  1. ↑ Connaughton, Kevin (January 14, 2025). "Lindsey Graham announces campaign team, funding for 2026 re-election bid". www.foxcarolina.com. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  2. ↑ Kenmore, Abraham; Adcox, Seanna (November 6, 2024). "Trump wins SC for 3rd time, on his way to stunning White House victory". SC Daily Gazette. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  3. ↑ Holdman, Jessica; Kenmore, Abraham (November 6, 2024). "SC Republicans celebrate red wave that gives GOP biggest advantage in 150 years". SC Daily Gazette. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  4. ↑ Lobosco, Katie (November 4, 2020). "Lindsey Graham defeats Jaime Harrison in South Carolina | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  5. ↑ Connaughton, Kevin (January 14, 2025). "Lindsey Graham announces campaign team, funding for 2026 re-election bid". WIS-TV. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  6. ↑ Mascaro, Lisa; Kinnard, Meg (July 28, 2025). "Project 2025 author Paul Dans will challenge Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina". Associated Press .
  7. ↑ Atkinson, Mason (January 13, 2025). "Lindsey Graham announces campaign team, funding for 2026 re-election bid". The Post and Courier . Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  8. ↑ Maultsby, Baker (February 5, 2025). "Greenville businessman to take on Graham for Senate seat in 2026 Republican primary". Spartanburg Herald-Journal . Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  9. ↑ Hyslip, Tom (February 23, 2025). "Thomas Murphy Announces Primary Challenge Against Senator Lindsey Graham in 2026 Race". WRHI . Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  10. ↑ Bustos, Joseph (May 14, 2025). "This Upstate Democrat is looking to oust Trump-backed Sen. Lindsey Graham". The State . Retrieved May 23, 2025. Ethan Holliman, of Conway, also has filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to run as a Republican for the seat and has loaned his campaign $20,000.
  11. ↑ Valeski, Lucy (August 8, 2025). "Former Lt. Gov. André Bauer drops out of SC Senate race to slim field". The State .
  12. ↑ Atkinson, Macon (July 25, 2025). "Rock Hill Republican and MAGA congressman Ralph Norman is running for SC governor". The Post and Courier . Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  13. ↑ Kayanja, Ian (March 26, 2025). "President Trump endorses Lindsey Graham as senator eyes 2026 reelection bid". WCIV . Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Kinnard, Meg (February 4, 2025). "Sen. Tim Scott and South Carolina's governor will chair Lindsey Graham's reelection bid". Associated Press . Retrieved February 4, 2025.
  15. ↑ "- AIPAC Political Portal". candidates.aipacpac.org. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  16. 1 2 Robelot, Jane (March 31, 2025). "Sen. Lindsey Graham gets endorsements from three national, state anti-abortion groups". WYFF4. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  17. 1 2 "2026 Election United States Senate - South Carolina". fec.gov. Federal Election Commission . Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Lindsey Graham Faces a Shifting GOP Landscape in South Carolina". Quantus Insights. June 17, 2025. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  19. ↑ Corley, Jason (June 17, 2025). "Quantus Insights – South Carolina". Quantus Insights. Retrieved June 18, 2025– via Google Drive.
  20. ↑ @PollTracker2024 (May 27, 2025). "Pulse Opinion Research poll South Carolina Republican Senate primary 2026 (Mark Lynch internal) Lindsay Graham 43% Mark Lynch 29% Undecided 23% 5/15-5/21 LV" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ↑ Bustos, Joseph (May 29, 2025). "This SC pediatrician ran for Congress in 2022. Now she wants to oust Sen. Graham". The State . Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  22. ↑ Quinn, Abigail (July 9, 2025). "Brandon Brown to challenge Lindsey Graham for South Carolina Senate seat". WCIV . Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  23. ↑ Young, Natasha (September 16, 2025). "Who's running for South Carolina's top offices in the 2026 elections". WSAV-TV. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  24. ↑ Carpentier, Bella (May 15, 2025). "Greenville engineer joins 2026 race for Lindsey Graham's U.S. Senate seat". Greenville News . Retrieved June 4, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Christopher Giracello FEC FORM 2 STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY FILING FEC-1897120".
  26. ↑ Folks, Will (June 3, 2025). "Former Tea Partier Joins Democratic Party, Heads To South Carolina". FITSNews . Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  27. ↑ Bustos, Joseph (July 16, 2025). "After two months, this Upstate Democrat drops out of SC US Senate race". The Island Packet .
  28. ↑ "Jaime Harrison Endorses Dr. Annie Andrews For U.S. Senate". The MinorityEye. June 4, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  29. ↑ "314 Action Fund Endorses Dr. Annie Andrews for U.S. Senate, as a Guardian of Public Health". 314action.org. June 18, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  30. ↑ "Vote Mama PAC | Candidates". Vote Mama PAC. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
  31. 1 2 Jacquot, Bryce (May 29, 2025). "Democrat Lee Johnson gains key endorsements in U.S. Senate race against Lindsey Graham". WCIV . Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  32. ↑ "FEC FORM 1 STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION FILING FEC-1894968".
  33. ↑ "Ellison, Jack FEC Form 2 for Report FEC-1875355". FEC. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  34. ↑ "FEC FORM 2 STATEMENT OF CANDIDACY FILING FEC-1895047".
  35. ↑ "FEC Form 2 for Report FEC-1850754". FEC. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
  36. ↑ Chornobroff, Shaun (April 28, 2025). "32 years after leaving office, a former SC congressman made a million-dollar campaign transfer". SC Daily Gazette . Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  37. ↑ "Senate Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  38. ↑ "2026 CPR Senate Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  39. ↑ "2026 Senate ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  40. ↑ "2026 Senate Forecast". Race to the WH. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
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