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. 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.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

  • Lindsey Graham, incumbent U.S. Senator (2003–present) [5]
  • Mark Lynch, appliance store owner [6]
  • Thomas Murphy, retired Navy hospital corpsman [7]

Publicly expressed interest

Potential

Endorsements

Lindsey Graham

U.S. senators

Statewide officials

Democratic primary

Candidates

Filed paperwork

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
Inside Elections [13] Solid RJanuary 17, 2025
The Cook Political Report [14] Solid RFebruary 11, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball [15] Safe RFebruary 13, 2025

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. ↑ Adcox, Abraham Kenmore, Seanna (November 6, 2024). "Trump wins SC for 3rd time, on his way to stunning White House victory • SC Daily Gazette". SC Daily Gazette. Retrieved December 21, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ Kenmore, Jessica Holdman, Abraham (November 6, 2024). "SC Republicans celebrate red wave that gives GOP biggest advantage in 150 years • SC Daily Gazette". SC Daily Gazette. Retrieved December 7, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ Lobosco, Katie (November 4, 2020). "Lindsey Graham defeats Jaime Harrison in South Carolina | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Atkinson, Mason (January 13, 2025). "Lindsey Graham announces campaign team, funding for 2026 re-election bid". The Post and Courier . Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ Hyslip, Tom (February 23, 2025). "Thomas Murphy Announces Primary Challenge Against Senator Lindsey Graham in 2026 Race". WRHI . Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  8. ↑ Solender, Andrew (November 27, 2024). "Scoop: A huge wave of House members is eyeing runs for other offices in 2026". Axios . Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 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.
  10. ↑ Bustos, Joseph (November 14, 2024). "Who might run for South Carolina governor and US senator in 2026? Here are names to watch". The State . Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  11. ↑ Gorman, Reese (December 5, 2024). "Nancy Mace Is Already Eyeing a Run for Governor — Or a Senate Primary". NOTUS. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
  12. ↑ "FEC Form 2 for Report FEC-1606714". Federal Elections Commission. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Senate Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  14. ↑ "2026 CPR Senate Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  15. ↑ "2026 Senate ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
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