ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump was in South Carolina for the second time in a month on Thursday, a sign of growing Republican anxiety about Darline Graham‘s ability to fend off a robust challenge from Democrat Annie Andrews for a critical U.S. Senate seat.
Voters in South Carolina have not sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly three decades. But Andrews, a pediatrician who previously ran unsuccessfully for Congress, is urging voters seeking change to “try something new for once.”
That message could resonate in an election year that has come to be defined by voter frustration with the economy, gas prices and the war in Iran, putting Trump’s Republican Party on defense in territory where they’ve rarely had to compete in recent years. Beyond South Carolina, Republicans are entering the final days of this year’s midterms navigating tight contests in Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa and Alaska.
Both parties are also closely following developments in the Mississippi Senate race.
Graham’s struggle to connect with voters
In South Carolina, Graham has struggled to quickly build connections with voters. The sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, she was appointed in July by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to fill the remaining months of her brother’s term after his sudden death. In August, she became the party’s nominee to succeed him for a full six-year term.
“He was a great politician,” Trump said of Lindsey Graham, before promoting Darline Graham as his elected successor. “She’s got the gene.”
Trump also acknowledged pressing her to run at a time other Republicans were seeking the seat.
“I got you into this thing, Darline,” Trump quipped.
Speaking before Trump, Darline Graham commended the president for having “delivered what Washington promised for decades” and she warned that Andrews “would just throw it all away.”
Andrews appeared in nearby Fort Mill on Wednesday, where she said that if voters elect her and become unhappy with her performance on Capitol Hill, “you can fire me in six years.”
“I promise that I won’t let you down, that I’m going to win you all over,” she said.
Andrews’ success on Tuesday, Election Day, will likely hinge on winning support from disaffected Republicans like Brent Chaplin. The 37-year-old who works in finance and accounting said he’s a registered Republican, “but it’s hard to be that right now.”
He said he voted for Andrews and encouraged voters to think beyond partisan politics.
“You just can’t go and say I’m a Republican, I’m just going to vote Republican,” said Chaplin, who voted for Trump in 2016. “You’ve got to put some brainpower into it and think about it. So hopefully it is a message to the powers that be to wake up, pick better candidates.”
Benjamin Updegraft, a 32-year-old software engineer, expressed frustration that the Senate seat might stay in the Graham family.
“The Senate is not an inherited position,” he said. “This is not a country where these noble titles are passed down between families.”
Trump’s focus is beyond South Carolina
Though he was in South Carolina, Trump spent part of his Thursday speech opining on contests in North Carolina, Michigan, Texas, Minnesota and Alaska.
He has been especially focused on Alaska after The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the Democratic Senate candidate’s campaign appeared to be involved in recruiting another candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. The state’s Republican governor has ordered an investigation.
Trump called the development a “conspiracy” and called for the Democrat in the race, Mary Peltola, to be removed from the ballot. He has cast doubt on whether Peltola would be seated in the Senate even if she won the election.
Peltola’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a message Thursday seeking comment on Dunleavy’s order. But during a campaign stop in Soldotna, Peltola, a former congresswoman, suggested the Times’ report was a “distraction” from issues such as Sen. Sullivan’s support of the war in Iran.
The revelation in Alaska was a reminder of the volatility of the midterm’s final days as both parties make decisions about how to spend time and money with control of Congress on the line.
A Trump rally that was scheduled for Saturday in Kansas has been converted into a virtual tele-rally, according to a person familiar with the plans. The event had been planned as an effort to help GOP Sen. Roger Marshall, who’s in an extraordinarily competitive race against Democrat and Methodist megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton.
Trump will hold tele-rallies in two dozen states in the coming days, including Texas, Kansas, Iowa, New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan, according to another person familiar with the president’s plans. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
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Sloan and Kinnard reported from Washington. Associated Press writers John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
